Investing.com - European stocks were steady to lower on Friday, after posting sharp losses on Thursday as markets were disappointed by the European Central Bank's latest policy statement.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.53%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.12%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dipped 0.02%.
European equities were hit after ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday that the pace of the quantitative easing program is to remain unchanged at €60 billion, disappointing expectations that the central bank would speed up its bond-buying scheme.
Draghi added that the bank will expand its bond-buying purchase scheme beyond the current cut-off point of September 2016 until the end of March 2017, or beyond if necessary.
The comments came after the ECB's governing council lowered the deposit facility rate to -0.3% from -0.20%, in line with market expectations.
The ECB's main refinancing rate was left unchanged at a record-low 0.05%, in line with market expectations.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) eased 0.05% and 0.11%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) advanced 0.49% and 1.02%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) added 0.06% and 0.09% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) lost 0.20% and 1.10%.
Elsewhere, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV dropped 0.98% after beer drinkers decided to sue to block the company's $110 billion SABMiller (L:SAB) Plc takeover, saying the deal would force them to pay more for lower quality.
In London, FTSE 100 slid 0.39%, weighed by Whtibread, whose shares plummeted 2.61% after the stock was downgraded by Barclays (L:BARC) to an "equal weight" rating.
Financial stocks were also mostly lower, as Barclays eased 0.07% and HSBC Holdings (L:HSBA) declined 0.37%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) lost 0.46%. Lloyds Banking (L:LLOY) overperformed with shares rising 0.22%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Fresnillo (L:FRES) and Bhp Billiton (L:BLT) gained 0.49% and 0.57% respectively, while Rio Tinto (L:RIO) climbed 0.64% and Glencore (L:GLEN) rallied 1.86%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.48% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.50% climb, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.49% increase.