Investing.com - European stocks opened mixed on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious amid fresh speculation over a potential June rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged up 0.08%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.12%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dipped 0.05%.
Market participants were looking ahead to the minutes of the Fed’s most recent policy meeting, due later in the day, for indications on the timing of future interest rate hikes.
Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart and San Francisco Fed President John Williams both said on Tuesday that there could be two or three rate hikes this year.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) slid 0.73% and 0.70%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) tumbled 1.44% and 1.37%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) declined 0.66% and 1.28% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) retreated 0.47% and 0.37%.
Elsewhere, Syngenta inched up 0.03% after the Swiss pesticides group announced on Tuesdat that the offer period for ChemChina's takeover bid had been extended.
Iliad shares were higher for a second day, climbing 0.70% after the French telecoms company reported a 6.6% in year-on-year first-quarter revenues.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slid 0.37%, weighed by losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) tumbled 2.64% and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) lost 3.18%, while Glencore (LON:GLEN) plummeted 2.91% and Anglo American (LON:AAL) dove 5.03%.
Burberry Group (LON:BRBY) added to losses, with shares plunging 3.94% after the luxury retailer reported a 10% drop in full-year adjusted pretax profit to £421 million and said that the "challenging environment" in the sector will remain in the "near term".
In the financial sector, stocks were mostly higher. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) edged up 0.23% and Barclays (LON:BARC) added 0.24%, while Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) rose 0.27%. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) underperformed, with shares sliding 0.35%.
SABMiller (LON:SAB) was also on the upside, with shares gaining 0.36% even after the brewing company reported a 16% decline in profit before tax in the 12 months to March 31.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% dip, S&P 500 futures a 0.01% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.05% gain.