Investing.com - European stocks were mixed on Wednesday, despite reports that the European Central Bank is looking at widening its bond purchasing program to include corporate debt.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 slipped 0.12%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.02%, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.45%.
European equities found support after Reuters reported on Tuesday that the ECB is considering buying bonds issued by companies, or corporate debt, to help stimulate the ailing euro zone economy.
The report said the bank could activate the new stimulus plan as soon as December and start bond purchases by early next year.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) rose 0.31% and 0.53%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) advanced 0.80%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) edged up 0.13%. Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) underperformed however, sliding 0.20% and 0.48% respectively.
Elsewhere, ABB (ST:ABB) surged 2.83% after the world's biggest maker of power grids reported third-quarter net income of $734 million, beating the $692 million average estimate of analysts.
In London, FTSE 100 edged down 0.15%, led by British American Tobacco (LONDON:BATS), down 3.86% after the company reported lower revenue for the first 9 months of the year, affected by foreign exchange rates and the slow economic recovery in western Europe.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mixed. Shares in Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) slipped 0.13% and 0.18% respectively, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) added 0.13% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) climbed 0.89%.
In the mining sector, stocks were also mixed as Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) declined 0.64% and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) tumbled 1.08%, while Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) edged up 0.15% and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) gained 0.46%.
Earlier Wednesday, Bhp Billiton reported iron-ore production of 57.1 million metric tons in the three months ending September 30, exceeding expectations for 56.5 million metric tons.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.13% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.18% loss, while the NASDAQ 100 futures indicated a 0.12% slip.
Later in the day, the Bank of England was to release the minutes of its latest policy meeting, while the U.S. was to produce data on consumer prices.