Investing.com - European stocks remained lower on Wednesday, as concerns over the outcome of the U.S. budget impasse and a potential sovereign default continued to weigh on market sentiment.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.21%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.78%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged down 0.12%.
On Tuesday, Fitch ratings agency placed its triple-A rating on the U.S. on “rating watch negative” and said a downgrade is possible.
The ratings agency said the political impasse over a deal to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling has undermined confidence in U.S. economic policy.
If an agreement to raise the federal borrowing limit is not struck ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the U.S. will face an unprecedented sovereign debt default.
Senate leaders were continuing negotiations aimed at ending the fiscal impasse, after a last minute deal put forward by House Republicans collapsed on Tuesday.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as BNP Paribas slipped 0.17% and Societe Generale rose 0.29% in France, while Germany's Deutsche Bank gained 0.53%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA climbed 0.61% and 0.71% respectively, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo advanced 0.09% and 1.93%.
Elsewhere, Danone plummeted 3.83% after posting the slowest sales growth in 16 quarters and lowering its full-year forecast.
Adding to losses, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton dove 6.18% as the luxury-goods company reported revenue for the third quarter that fell short of estimates.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 declined 0.48%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector, while data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. posted the largest decline since June 1997 in September.
Mining giants Rio Tinto slumped 0.86% and Glencore Xstrata lost 2.33%, while rivals Fresnillo and Polymetal plunged 3.10% and 4.96% respectively.
Meanwhile, financial stocks turned mostly lower. Barclays gained 0.43%, while Lloyds Banking slid 0.77%, HSBC Holdings tumbled 0.99% and the Royal Bank of Scotland retreated 0.52%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.36% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.38% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% rise.
Also Wednesday, data showed that the annual rate of consumer inflation in the euro zone was unchanged from a preliminary estimate of 1.1% in September.
A separate report showed that the euro zone’s trade surplus widened to EUR12.3 billion in August from EUR11 billion in April, broadly in line with forecasts.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.21%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.78%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged down 0.12%.
On Tuesday, Fitch ratings agency placed its triple-A rating on the U.S. on “rating watch negative” and said a downgrade is possible.
The ratings agency said the political impasse over a deal to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling has undermined confidence in U.S. economic policy.
If an agreement to raise the federal borrowing limit is not struck ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the U.S. will face an unprecedented sovereign debt default.
Senate leaders were continuing negotiations aimed at ending the fiscal impasse, after a last minute deal put forward by House Republicans collapsed on Tuesday.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as BNP Paribas slipped 0.17% and Societe Generale rose 0.29% in France, while Germany's Deutsche Bank gained 0.53%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA climbed 0.61% and 0.71% respectively, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo advanced 0.09% and 1.93%.
Elsewhere, Danone plummeted 3.83% after posting the slowest sales growth in 16 quarters and lowering its full-year forecast.
Adding to losses, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton dove 6.18% as the luxury-goods company reported revenue for the third quarter that fell short of estimates.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 declined 0.48%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector, while data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. posted the largest decline since June 1997 in September.
Mining giants Rio Tinto slumped 0.86% and Glencore Xstrata lost 2.33%, while rivals Fresnillo and Polymetal plunged 3.10% and 4.96% respectively.
Meanwhile, financial stocks turned mostly lower. Barclays gained 0.43%, while Lloyds Banking slid 0.77%, HSBC Holdings tumbled 0.99% and the Royal Bank of Scotland retreated 0.52%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.36% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.38% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% rise.
Also Wednesday, data showed that the annual rate of consumer inflation in the euro zone was unchanged from a preliminary estimate of 1.1% in September.
A separate report showed that the euro zone’s trade surplus widened to EUR12.3 billion in August from EUR11 billion in April, broadly in line with forecasts.