Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Thursday, as Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble dampened expectations for fresh easing measures by the European Central Bank and investors eyed the release of inflation and employment data from Germany.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 retreated 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.41%, while Germany’s DAX lost 0.66%.
European equities came under pressure after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said on Wednesday that ECB President Mario Draghi's recent comments on possible easing measures have been "over-interpreted."
Mr. Schauble was referring to Mario Draghi's speech at Jackson Hole last week in which he said that the central bank is willing to take more unconventional action if needed to stimulate growth in the euro zone.
Earlier Thursday, preliminary data showed that consumer price inflation in Spain fell at an annualized rate of 0.5% this month, compared to expectations for a 0.2% downtick, after a 0.3% fall in July.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lender Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) declined 0.75%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) dropped 0.28% and 0.87%.
Among peripheral lenders however, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) slid 0.37% and 0.81% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) retreated 0.58% and 0.62%.
Elsewhere, Gemalto (AMS:GTO) plummeted 2.41% after the digital security compamy reported first-half revenue below analysts' estimates.
On the upside, Paris-based Essilor International (PARIS:ESSI) International surged 4.84% after reporting a climb of 11% in first-half adjusted profit.
Pernod Ricard (PARIS:PERP) added to gains, up 2.37%, after the distiller announced plans to eliminate jobs in a move to generate €150 million of savings following a drop in demand in China.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.19%, weighed by losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) dropped 0.50% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) tumbled 1.19%, while rivals Antofagasta (LONDON:ANTO) and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) plummeted 1.76% and 2.57% respectively.
In the financial sector, stocks were steady to lower. Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) both dipped 0.01%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) declined 0.41% and 0.48%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.11% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.13% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% slide.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release revised data on second quarter GDP, as well as the weekly government report on initial jobless claims and data on pending home sales for July.