Investing.com – European stocks were mixed on Wednesday, as shares in BP slipped after the company delayed a critical test to check if it can close a cap placed on the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 shed 0.17%; France’s CAC 40 slid 0.23% while Germany's DAX rose 0.05%.
The DAX's gains came after shares in Intel jumped 6.7% in Germany after the company posted a stronger-than-expected second quarter earnings report late Monday.
Meanwhile, shares in BP shed 0.7% after the company delayed testing to check if it can cap the leaking Gulf of Mexico well in order to give scientists more time to study how to monitor pressure levels in the well.
In London, the FTSE 100 shed 0.27% as shares of U.K. television broadcaster ITV declined 2.3% after it was downgraded to underperform from neutral by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who said the stock was too expensive, "unless ITV adopts a subscription model, given macro uncertainty and ongoing structural pressures."
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was optimistic: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated an increase of 0.23%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a gain of 0.26% and Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a rise of 0.83%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on retail sales while the minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee were also due to be published.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 shed 0.17%; France’s CAC 40 slid 0.23% while Germany's DAX rose 0.05%.
The DAX's gains came after shares in Intel jumped 6.7% in Germany after the company posted a stronger-than-expected second quarter earnings report late Monday.
Meanwhile, shares in BP shed 0.7% after the company delayed testing to check if it can cap the leaking Gulf of Mexico well in order to give scientists more time to study how to monitor pressure levels in the well.
In London, the FTSE 100 shed 0.27% as shares of U.K. television broadcaster ITV declined 2.3% after it was downgraded to underperform from neutral by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who said the stock was too expensive, "unless ITV adopts a subscription model, given macro uncertainty and ongoing structural pressures."
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was optimistic: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated an increase of 0.23%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a gain of 0.26% and Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a rise of 0.83%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on retail sales while the minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee were also due to be published.