Investing.com – European stock markets were broadly lower on Wednesday, amid concerns over sovereign debt in the U.S. and the euro zone, while weaker-than-expected earnings reports from companies such as Peugeot and Merck also weighed.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.9%, France’s CAC 40 slumped 0.65%, while Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.4%.
With seven days to go before the August 2 deadline, U.S. Republican leaders delayed a key vote on a plan to raise the USD14.3 trillion debt ceiling until Thursday at the earliest, adding to concerns over a possible sovereign debt default or downgrade.
Meanwhile German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said earlier that his government was against providing a “blank check” for the European Financial Stability Facility to purchase bonds on the secondary market, reigniting fears of sovereign debt contagion in the single currency bloc.
Italian lenders were sharply lower, with Intesa Sanpaolo tumbling 5.75% and Unicredit dropping 4.6%, while France’s Societe Generale and BNP Paribas sank 3.1% and 2.9% respectively.
In earnings news, Spain’s largest lender Banco Santander declined 2.9% after it reported second quarter net profit fell by 38% to EUR1.39 billion.
French automaker Peugeot saw shares plunge 8.7% after it warned of slower growth in the second half of 2011, citing the impact of rising raw materials costs and the Japanese disaster.
German pharmaceutical firm Merck saw shares tumble 5.1% after it swung to a second quarter net loss of EUR85.9 million from a profit of EUR183.4 million a year earlier, citing a series of one-off charges.
In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.3% as U.K. lenders led losses, tracking their European counterparts lower. Lloyd’s Banking Group saw shares drop 3.5%, while Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland shares sank 3.3% and 3.1% respectively.
Shares in television broadcaster ITV fell 1.5% after warning that the outlook for the TV advertising market remained uncertain.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a modest gain of 0.1%, the S&P 500 futures eased up 0.05%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.15%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on durable goods orders, as well as government data on crude oil stockpiles, while the Federal Reserve was to publish its Beige Book.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.9%, France’s CAC 40 slumped 0.65%, while Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.4%.
With seven days to go before the August 2 deadline, U.S. Republican leaders delayed a key vote on a plan to raise the USD14.3 trillion debt ceiling until Thursday at the earliest, adding to concerns over a possible sovereign debt default or downgrade.
Meanwhile German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said earlier that his government was against providing a “blank check” for the European Financial Stability Facility to purchase bonds on the secondary market, reigniting fears of sovereign debt contagion in the single currency bloc.
Italian lenders were sharply lower, with Intesa Sanpaolo tumbling 5.75% and Unicredit dropping 4.6%, while France’s Societe Generale and BNP Paribas sank 3.1% and 2.9% respectively.
In earnings news, Spain’s largest lender Banco Santander declined 2.9% after it reported second quarter net profit fell by 38% to EUR1.39 billion.
French automaker Peugeot saw shares plunge 8.7% after it warned of slower growth in the second half of 2011, citing the impact of rising raw materials costs and the Japanese disaster.
German pharmaceutical firm Merck saw shares tumble 5.1% after it swung to a second quarter net loss of EUR85.9 million from a profit of EUR183.4 million a year earlier, citing a series of one-off charges.
In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.3% as U.K. lenders led losses, tracking their European counterparts lower. Lloyd’s Banking Group saw shares drop 3.5%, while Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland shares sank 3.3% and 3.1% respectively.
Shares in television broadcaster ITV fell 1.5% after warning that the outlook for the TV advertising market remained uncertain.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a modest gain of 0.1%, the S&P 500 futures eased up 0.05%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.15%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on durable goods orders, as well as government data on crude oil stockpiles, while the Federal Reserve was to publish its Beige Book.