Investing.com - European stocks were little changed on Wednesday, as investors eyed the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated policy statement later in the day, amid mounting expectations for further easing measures.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.06%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.07%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.26%.
The U.S. central bank was expected to announce new easing steps to replace its Operation Twist program, which expires this month following its policy setting meeting later Wednesday.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious as they awaited fresh developments in negotiations to avoid the U.S. fiscal cliff amid concerns that the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to take effect in early 2013 could derail the U.S. recovery.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as shares in Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank advanced 0.44% and 0.79%, while peripheral lenders such as Italian Intesa Sanpaolo and Spanish Banco Santander climbed 0.49% and 0.65% respectively.
French banks underperformed on the other hand, as BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 0.56% and 0.85%.
Elsewhere, France-based Peugeot surged 5.98% after Europe’s second-largest carmaker said it will eliminate 1,500 job positions in addition to the 8,000 announced in July.
Hotel chain Accor tumbled 1.43% after saying France’s highest court has asked the hotelier to pay EUR149.7 million in taxes.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 inched up 0.04%, despite sharp losses in oil and mining stocks.
Oil and gas giant BP dropped 0.48% and rival Tullow Oil plummeted 2.22%, while Anglo American saw shares jump 1.42% on the other hand.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton added to losses, declining 0.29% and 0.12% respectively, while Polymetal and Eurasian Natural Resources slumped 1.25% and 1.15%.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. Lloyds Banking slipped 0.19% and HSBC Holdings retreated 0.39%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays rose 0.34% and 0.40%.
Meanwhile, Imagination Technologies Group dove 5.95%, even as the company reported higher-than-expected first-half earnings.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.09% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.08% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% increase.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on industrial production.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.06%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.07%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.26%.
The U.S. central bank was expected to announce new easing steps to replace its Operation Twist program, which expires this month following its policy setting meeting later Wednesday.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious as they awaited fresh developments in negotiations to avoid the U.S. fiscal cliff amid concerns that the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to take effect in early 2013 could derail the U.S. recovery.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as shares in Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank advanced 0.44% and 0.79%, while peripheral lenders such as Italian Intesa Sanpaolo and Spanish Banco Santander climbed 0.49% and 0.65% respectively.
French banks underperformed on the other hand, as BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 0.56% and 0.85%.
Elsewhere, France-based Peugeot surged 5.98% after Europe’s second-largest carmaker said it will eliminate 1,500 job positions in addition to the 8,000 announced in July.
Hotel chain Accor tumbled 1.43% after saying France’s highest court has asked the hotelier to pay EUR149.7 million in taxes.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 inched up 0.04%, despite sharp losses in oil and mining stocks.
Oil and gas giant BP dropped 0.48% and rival Tullow Oil plummeted 2.22%, while Anglo American saw shares jump 1.42% on the other hand.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton added to losses, declining 0.29% and 0.12% respectively, while Polymetal and Eurasian Natural Resources slumped 1.25% and 1.15%.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. Lloyds Banking slipped 0.19% and HSBC Holdings retreated 0.39%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays rose 0.34% and 0.40%.
Meanwhile, Imagination Technologies Group dove 5.95%, even as the company reported higher-than-expected first-half earnings.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.09% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.08% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% increase.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on industrial production.