Investing.com - European stocks were mixed on Wednesday, as investors turned their attention to the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy statement due later in the day.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 slipped 0.17%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.05%, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.54%.
Investors were eyeing the conclusion of the Fed's two day policy meeting later Wednesday, amid concerns that slowing growth in Europe and China could prompt the U.S. central bank to stick to its cautious outlook on monetary policy.
The Fed was likely to announce the conclusion of its asset purchasing stimulus program, known as quantitative easing, but was also expected to reassure markets that interest rates will remain on hold for some time to come.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) gained 0.45% and 0.82%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) declined 0.85% after reporting a loss in the third quarter.
Among peripheral lenders, Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) fell 0.21% and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) added 0.35% in Italy, while Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) edged up 0.17% and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) tumbled 1.57% in Spain.
BBVA earlier announced that third-quarter net profit rose sharply from a year earlier but still missed analysts' estimates.
Elsewhere, Air France KLM (PARIS:AIRF) plummeted 1.70% after saying that third-quarter profit dropped following a two-week pilot strike.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 gained 0.52%, boosted by sharp gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) jumped 1.08% and 1.32%, while rivals Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) and Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) surged 1.82% and 2.24% respectively.
Financial stocks added to gains, as HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) egded up 0.14% and 0.15%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) climbed 0.67%. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) underperformed however, down 0.19%.
Meanwhile, Next (LONDON:NXT) led losses on the index, with shares plunging 2.80% after the clothing retailer said third quarter sales rose 5.4%, far below the targeted 10% growth, citing an unseasonably warm autumn.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.02% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled an 0.13% fall, while the NASDAQ 100 futures indicated a 0.35% decline.