Investing.com - European stocks were steady to higher on Wednesday, amid heightened expectations for fresh easing measures by the European Central Bank ahead of its monthly policy meeting on Thursday.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.11%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.03% higher, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.18%.
European equities remained supported after data on Friday showed that the annual rate of euro area inflation slowed to a five year low of 0.3% last month, down from 0.4% in October.
The weak data added to pressure on the ECB to step up measures to spur growth and stave off the threat of deflation ahead of its upcoming policy meeting on Thursday.
Earlier Wednesday, Markit research group said that Spain's services purchasing managers' index ticked down to 52.7 last month from 55.9 in October, confounding expectations for rise to 56.2.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) gained 0.67% and 0.59%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) advanced 0.61% and 0.41%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo rose 0.21% and 0.54%, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander added 0.15% 0.16%.
Elsewhere, Salzgitter (XETRA:SZGG) surged 2.36% after the German steelmaker said insurance policies will cover most losses linked to Russia’s discontinuation of its Black Sea pipeline project.
On the downside, Nexity (PARIS:NEXI) saw shares tumble 1.98% after Groupe BPCE said it was selling a 4% stake in the French real-estate services company.
In London, FTSE 100 dipped 0.04%, weighed by Royal Mail, whose shares were down 3.08%.
The postal service company came under pressure as the Communication Workers Union called for a judicial review of postal regulator Ofcom after it said it would not change rules obliging Royal Mail to deliver across the U.K. for one price.
Mining stocks added to losses on the commodity-heavy index, as Bhp Billiton dropped 0.59% and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) declined 0.89%, while Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) and Antofagasta tumbled 0.91% and 1.55% respectively.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mostly higher. Shares in Barclays added 0.10% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) gained 0.53%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) climbed 0.55%. HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) underperformed on the other hand, down 0.58%.
Astrazeneca (LONDON:AZN) added to gains, up 0.22% amid reports the drugmaker is fighting to avoid what might be billions of dollars in damages over claims it illegally paid to block generic versions of the heartburn tablet Nexium.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.04% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.05% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.02% downtick.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release data on retail sales. The U.S. was to release the ADP report on private sector job creation, while the ISM was to publish a report on U.S. service sector activity.