Investing.com – European stock markets were down during morning trade on Wednesday, as banking stocks fell ahead of U.S. jobs data and investors awaited details of further austerity measures to be taken by Greece.
France’s CAC 40 was down 0.21%; Germany's DAX was down 0.13%; the EURO STOXX 50 was down 0.16%; and Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.11%.
Among the worst performers were BNP Paribas, which lost 0.66%, and Credit Agricole, which dropped 0.93%.
Also Wednesday, Greece's government was reportedly set to announce further austerity measures, in a bid to plug its gaping budget deficit.
The debt-laden country's fiscal crisis has sown fear in financial markets in recent months, highlighting weakness in some euro zone countries and raised questions about the bloc's stability.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. markets was quite positive: Dow Jones industrial average futures indicated a rise of 0.05%, S&P 500 Index futures pointed to an increase of 0.03% and the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a rise of 0.04%.
Later in the day, the U.S. Department of Labor was set to release its ADP monthly report on non-farm employment change, an important measure of the condition of the U.S. job market.