Investing.com - European stock markets turned lower on Wednesday, as market sentiment weakened amid ongoing concerns over the handling of the debt crisis in the euro zone.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.50%, France’s CAC 40 plunged 1.62%, while Germany’s DAX 30 retreated 0.87%.
Sentiment came under pressure ahead of a critical auction of two and 10-year Spanish government bonds on Thursday, amid uncertainty over whether the government will be able to reduce one of the euro zone’s largest budget deficits in the face of a looming recession.
Meanwhile, concerns over Portugal’s economic health intensified after Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said Wednesday there were "no guarantees" that the country would meet its commitment to return to the international capital markets before September 2013.
Financial stocks pushed sharply lower as shares in French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas plummeted 3.69% and 2.68% respectively, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank lost 0.65% and 0.89%.
Peripheral lenders were also on the downside, with Italian Unicredit plunging 3.58% and Intesa Sanpaolo retreating 3.69%, while Spanish lenders BBVA and Banco Santander declined 2.36% and 2.99%.
Meanwhile, Spanish oil and gas group Repsol saw shares tumble 2.04% as Argentina rejected its demand for USD10.5 billion in compensation after President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner seized its YPF SA unit, saying it hasn’t invested enough in the South American country.
On the upside, Statoil ASA jumped 2.38% after Norway’s biggest oil producer agreed to sell its 54% stake in Statoil Fuel & Retail.
Heineken also contributed to gains, surging 2.51% after reporting first-quarter revenue of EUR3.83 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of EUR3.74 billion.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 lost 0.48%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower while data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. rose less-than-expected last month.
Shares in Lloyds Banking dropped 1.58% and Barclays declined 1.45%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings saw shares retreat 1.35% and 0.59%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks held gains as shares in Bhp Billiton and Rio Tinto climbed 1.64% and 0.64% respectively, while copper producer Xstrata added 0.20%.
Bhp Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, said earlier that third-quarter iron ore production rose 14% as it expands its mines and port in Australia.
Tesco was also higher, advancing 0.33% after the U.K.’s largest retailer said annual profit rose 1.3% as the grocer pledged to invest GBP1 billion to improve U.K. stores after shoppers spurned a price cut campaign.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.27%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.29% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.32% loss.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that the euro zone current account swung to an unexpected deficit of EUR1.3 billion in February, from a surplus of EUR3.7 billion the previous month.
Economists had expected the region’s current account surplus to widen to EUR5.0 billion in February.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.50%, France’s CAC 40 plunged 1.62%, while Germany’s DAX 30 retreated 0.87%.
Sentiment came under pressure ahead of a critical auction of two and 10-year Spanish government bonds on Thursday, amid uncertainty over whether the government will be able to reduce one of the euro zone’s largest budget deficits in the face of a looming recession.
Meanwhile, concerns over Portugal’s economic health intensified after Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said Wednesday there were "no guarantees" that the country would meet its commitment to return to the international capital markets before September 2013.
Financial stocks pushed sharply lower as shares in French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas plummeted 3.69% and 2.68% respectively, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank lost 0.65% and 0.89%.
Peripheral lenders were also on the downside, with Italian Unicredit plunging 3.58% and Intesa Sanpaolo retreating 3.69%, while Spanish lenders BBVA and Banco Santander declined 2.36% and 2.99%.
Meanwhile, Spanish oil and gas group Repsol saw shares tumble 2.04% as Argentina rejected its demand for USD10.5 billion in compensation after President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner seized its YPF SA unit, saying it hasn’t invested enough in the South American country.
On the upside, Statoil ASA jumped 2.38% after Norway’s biggest oil producer agreed to sell its 54% stake in Statoil Fuel & Retail.
Heineken also contributed to gains, surging 2.51% after reporting first-quarter revenue of EUR3.83 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of EUR3.74 billion.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 lost 0.48%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower while data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. rose less-than-expected last month.
Shares in Lloyds Banking dropped 1.58% and Barclays declined 1.45%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings saw shares retreat 1.35% and 0.59%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks held gains as shares in Bhp Billiton and Rio Tinto climbed 1.64% and 0.64% respectively, while copper producer Xstrata added 0.20%.
Bhp Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, said earlier that third-quarter iron ore production rose 14% as it expands its mines and port in Australia.
Tesco was also higher, advancing 0.33% after the U.K.’s largest retailer said annual profit rose 1.3% as the grocer pledged to invest GBP1 billion to improve U.K. stores after shoppers spurned a price cut campaign.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.27%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.29% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.32% loss.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that the euro zone current account swung to an unexpected deficit of EUR1.3 billion in February, from a surplus of EUR3.7 billion the previous month.
Economists had expected the region’s current account surplus to widen to EUR5.0 billion in February.