Investing.com - European stocks opened mixed on Thursday, as investors were still digesting the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision amid a fresh batch of corporate earnings.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.42%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.45%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.22%.
At the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, the Fed left interest rates unchanged at 1.25% in a widely expected move.
The central bank also said it planned to start shrinking its balance sheet "relatively soon" and noted weakness in U.S. inflation, sparking doubts over the possibility of a third rate hike this year.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) lost 0.03% and 0.41%, while Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) plummeted 2.59% and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) rose 0.20% in Germany.
Deutsche Bank reported on Thursday an unexpected surge in profits for the second quarter of 2017, doubling its pre-tax profit figure from last year. However, CEO Jon Cryan said revenues were "not as universally strong as we would have liked."
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) gained 0.30% and 0.47% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) dropped 0.57% and 0.81%.
Elsewhere, Bayer AG (DE:BAYGN) lost 2.33% after reporting an 11% drop in net profit for the second quarter and lowering its guidance for the full year. The German drugmaker is currently in the process of taking over U.S. firm Monsanto (NYSE:MON).
In London, FTSE 100 slipped 0.16%, weighed by Astrazeneca (LON:AZN), whose shares dove 16.59% after the pharmaceutical company’s crucial combination trial of durvalumab (Imfinzi) and tremelimumab failed the primary endpoint on progression-free survival as a first-line therapy for non-small cell lung cancer.
Shortly after the news, the U.K. group said it had signed a $8.4 billion development and commercialization partnership with Merck (NYSE:MRK) for two promising drugs.
Financial stocks added to losses, as the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) slid 0.31% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) declined 0.40%, while Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) tumbled 1.35%. Barclays (LON:BARC) shares were flat.
Meanwhile, Diageo (LON:DGE) Plc was one of the top performers on the index, with shares up 5.19% after the company posted higher than expected full-year sales and profits, adding that productivity initiatives beat expectations.
Mining stocks were also broadly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) climbed 0.43% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) advanced 0.58%, while Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) jumped 1.81% and Anglo American (LON:AAL) surged 3.10%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.18% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.25% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.58% climb.