Investing.com - European stocks turned broadly lower on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting later in the day.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.68%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.32%, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 0.65%.
Investors were looking ahead to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting later in the trading day, when the bank voted to cut its stimulus program by another $10 billion to $65 billion per month.
Earlier this month, Fed Chair Janet Yellen indicated that the central bank is on track to maintain the pace of reductions to its stimulus program, as long as the economy continues to improve as expected.
Financial stocks turned mostly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale tumbled 1.04% and 1.21%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank lost 1.31%.
Among peripheral lenders, Intesa Sanpaolo gained 0.41% and Unicredit plummeted 1.54% in Italy, while Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander retreated 1.14% and 1.21% respectively.
Elsewhere, Lafarge surged 3.04% after the cement maker said fourth-quarter net income rose to €213 million from €83 million a year earlier, exceeding analysts' estimates.
PSA Peugeot Citroen added to gains, with shares up 2.12%, as the French carmaker agreed to bring in Dongfeng Motor and France as investors as part of a €5.27 billion rescue plan to fund new vehicles.
In London, FTSE 100 slid 0.41%, after the minutes of the Bank of England’s February meeting showed that officials did not hold a vote before updating forward guidance on rates this month, indicating a unanimous belief that an adjustment was necessary.
The bank updated its forward guidance last week, saying it will not raise rates until the spare capacity in the U.K. economy has been fully absorbed, which it sees happening in 2015.
Financial stocks remained mostly lower, as the Royal Bank of Scotland slipped 0.13% and Lloyds Banking tumbled 1.41%, while Barclays dropped 1.53%. HSBC Holdings still overperformed however, up 0.27%.
In the mining sector, stocks were also mostly lower. BHP Billiton eased 0.05% and Rio Tinto slid 0.25%, while Vedanta Resources plummeted 2.01%.
Meanwhile, Sports Direct continued to lead gains on the index, with shares soaring 6.28%, as Britain's biggest sporting goods retailer posted a 14.6% increase in profit in its Christmas quarter and said it was confident of hitting its full-year target.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.16% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.22% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.09% loss.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish reports on building permits, housing starts and producer price inflation.