Investing.com - European stocks were steady to lower on Thursday, after Wednesday's emergency meeting on the Greek debt crisis ended without an agreement on extending the country’s bailout.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.17%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.20%, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased up 0.04%.
On Wednesday, talks between Greece and European Union officials ended without an agreement, though both sides said there was still hope for a deal. Further talks are due to be held next Monday.
Greece’s current bailout is due to expire on February 28 and the new Greek government does not want it extended, fuelling fears over a conflict with its creditors which could trigger the country’s exit from the euro zone.
Athens has proposed new economic reforms to replace 30% of its massive bailout deal, replacing them with a 10 point plan of economic reforms.
However, Greece’s creditors in the EU are insisting that the country must stick to the terms of the original bailout agreement.
Financial stocks were mixed, as BNP Paribas added 0.17% and Societe Generale tumbled 1.17% in France, while Deutsche Bank rose 0.21% and Commerzbank lost 1.25% in Germany.
Earlier Thursday, Societe Generale posted quarterly profit below analysts' projections.
Among peripheral lenders, Unicredit dropped 0.99% and Intesa Sanpaolo gained 0.73% in Italy, while BBVA dipped 0.04% and Banco Santander added 0.25% in Spain.
Elsewhere, Renault (PARIS:RENA) surged 7.18% after the carmaker reported a 30% climb in 2014 earnings, exceeding analysts' estimates.
On the downside, Hermes International (PARIS:HRMS) plummeted 1.41% after the French luxury goods maker forecast slowing revenue growth in 2015, as the weakness of the euro weighed on profitability last year.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 inched up 0.01%, supported by gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata rose 0.38% and Bhp Billiton advanced 0.79%, while Anglo American jumped 1.36%.
Rio Tinto led gains on the index, with shares surging 2.18%, after the mining giant reported better-than-expected annual profit and announced plans to spend $2 billion buying back shares.
In the financial sector, stocks were also broadly higher as Barclays and Lloyds Banking gained 0.30% and 0.48% respectively, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings climbed 0.72% and 0.80%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.04% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.14% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.01% downtick.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release reports on retail sales and initial jobless claims.