Investing.com - European stocks were mixed in choppy trade on Thursday, as markets were jittery ahead of an Italian government debt auction later in the day and as political uncertainty in Greece continued to dominate investor sentiment.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased 0.05%, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.12%, while Germany’s DAX 30 inched 0.05% lower.
Investors remained cautious as Italy was preparing to sell up to EUR4.5 billion in long term bonds later in the day, amid growing fears the country will be the next euro zone member to require a bailout. Rome saw borrowing costs surge to the highest level since December at an auction of 12-month government bonds on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, markets were also jittery ahead of highly anticipated Greek elections on Sunday, which could determine the country’s future in the euro zone.
Market sentiment had weakened on Wednesday after Moody’s rating agency downgraded Spain’s credit rating by three notches, from A3 to Baa3, citing the nation’s increased debt burden, weakening economy and limited access to capital markets.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as shares in French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas climbed 1.07% and 0.57%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank advanced 0.89% and 0.22% respectively.
Peripheral lenders also added to gains, with shares in Spain’s BBVA and Banco Santander rising 0.38% and 0.66%, while Italian Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo added 0.83% and 0.60%.
Elsewhere, Carrefour added 0.44% as Wal-Mart’s efforts to acquire Latin American assets from the company were reportedly slowing as the French retailer focuses on turning around its European business.
Auto stocks were broadly lower, on the other hand, as shares in BMW tumbled 1.07% and Daimler dropped 0.96, while Volkswagen saw shares declined 0.41%.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dropped 0.47%, weighed by losses in mining stocks.
Copper producer Xstrata plunged 1.84% and Kazakhmys retreated 0.93%, while mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton declined 1.17% and 0.76% respectively.
Oil and gas major Anglo American also tumbled 0.88%, while BP shares slumped 0.32%.
British Sky Broadcasting Group was one of the session’s top losers, diving 6.77%, and telecom company BT Group retreated 2.97% after winning the bidding to show 154 English Premier League soccer matches starting in the 2013-14 season.
On the upside, shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland jumped 1.24% and Barclays rose 0.68%, while HSBC Holdings edged up 0.06%. Lloyds Banking saw shares drop 0.54% however.
The U.K. government said earlier that it is set to outline tough measures on Thursday that will force banks to separate their retail-lending activities from riskier investment-banking businesses in one of the most
wide-ranging regulatory overhauls the country's financial sector has seen.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.33% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.37% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.48% gain.
Later in the day, the euro zone is to release official data on consumer price inflation, while the European Central Bank was to produce its monthly bulletin.
The U.S. was also to produce official data on consumer price inflation, in addition to a government report on initial unemployment claims.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased 0.05%, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.12%, while Germany’s DAX 30 inched 0.05% lower.
Investors remained cautious as Italy was preparing to sell up to EUR4.5 billion in long term bonds later in the day, amid growing fears the country will be the next euro zone member to require a bailout. Rome saw borrowing costs surge to the highest level since December at an auction of 12-month government bonds on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, markets were also jittery ahead of highly anticipated Greek elections on Sunday, which could determine the country’s future in the euro zone.
Market sentiment had weakened on Wednesday after Moody’s rating agency downgraded Spain’s credit rating by three notches, from A3 to Baa3, citing the nation’s increased debt burden, weakening economy and limited access to capital markets.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as shares in French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas climbed 1.07% and 0.57%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank advanced 0.89% and 0.22% respectively.
Peripheral lenders also added to gains, with shares in Spain’s BBVA and Banco Santander rising 0.38% and 0.66%, while Italian Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo added 0.83% and 0.60%.
Elsewhere, Carrefour added 0.44% as Wal-Mart’s efforts to acquire Latin American assets from the company were reportedly slowing as the French retailer focuses on turning around its European business.
Auto stocks were broadly lower, on the other hand, as shares in BMW tumbled 1.07% and Daimler dropped 0.96, while Volkswagen saw shares declined 0.41%.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dropped 0.47%, weighed by losses in mining stocks.
Copper producer Xstrata plunged 1.84% and Kazakhmys retreated 0.93%, while mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton declined 1.17% and 0.76% respectively.
Oil and gas major Anglo American also tumbled 0.88%, while BP shares slumped 0.32%.
British Sky Broadcasting Group was one of the session’s top losers, diving 6.77%, and telecom company BT Group retreated 2.97% after winning the bidding to show 154 English Premier League soccer matches starting in the 2013-14 season.
On the upside, shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland jumped 1.24% and Barclays rose 0.68%, while HSBC Holdings edged up 0.06%. Lloyds Banking saw shares drop 0.54% however.
The U.K. government said earlier that it is set to outline tough measures on Thursday that will force banks to separate their retail-lending activities from riskier investment-banking businesses in one of the most
wide-ranging regulatory overhauls the country's financial sector has seen.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.33% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.37% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.48% gain.
Later in the day, the euro zone is to release official data on consumer price inflation, while the European Central Bank was to produce its monthly bulletin.
The U.S. was also to produce official data on consumer price inflation, in addition to a government report on initial unemployment claims.