Investing.com - European stocks turned mostly lower on Thursday, as markets were jittery ahead of the release of highly anticipated U.S. economic data and as European officials began a two-day summit.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.09%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.16%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.48%.
Market sentiment remained supported after official data showed that the Chinese economy expanded by 7.4% in the three months to October, matching economists' forecasts.
The data came one day after a report showing that U.S. housing starts rose by 15% in September, the fastest pace since July 2008, adding to hopes that the U.S. economic recovery is gaining momentum.
Investors were also looking ahead to the start of a two-day European Union summit, although no major announcements on Spain or Greece were expected.
Financial stocks were mixed, as France saw shares in BNP Paribas drop 0.98% and Societe Generale jump 1.26%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank advanced 1.31%.
Meanwhile, Italian lenders Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo declined 0.16% and 1.47%, while Spain's BBVA and Banco Santander plummeted 1.41% and 1.62% respectively.
Elsewhere, Nestle pushed lower, with shares tumbling 2.41%, after the company reported nine-month sales growth that missed analysts' estimates.
On the upside, Nokia surged 5.45%, even as the Finnish mobile-phone maker reported a sixth straight quarterly loss as its Lumia smartphones failed to gain ground from Android-based devices.
In London, FTSE 100 eased 0.08%, although data earlier showed that retail sales in the U.K. rose more-than-expected in September.
U.K. lenders turned broadly higher, as shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.37% and HSBC Holdings climbed 0.50%, while Barclays and Lloyds Banking rallied 0.65% and 1.66% respectively.
Meanwhile, mining stocks held earlier gains, as shares in Evraz jumped 2.65%, while Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton advanced 1.15% and 1.04%.
In addition, oil and gas major BP climbed 0.59%, while Anglo American erased earlier gains, sliding 0.33%
Elsewhere, Man Group dove 7.97%, after the world’s biggest publicly traded hedge-fund manager said outflows increased 57% in the third quarter.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a mixed to lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.07% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.18% fall.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish its weekly report in initial jobless claims, as well as data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.09%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.16%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.48%.
Market sentiment remained supported after official data showed that the Chinese economy expanded by 7.4% in the three months to October, matching economists' forecasts.
The data came one day after a report showing that U.S. housing starts rose by 15% in September, the fastest pace since July 2008, adding to hopes that the U.S. economic recovery is gaining momentum.
Investors were also looking ahead to the start of a two-day European Union summit, although no major announcements on Spain or Greece were expected.
Financial stocks were mixed, as France saw shares in BNP Paribas drop 0.98% and Societe Generale jump 1.26%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank advanced 1.31%.
Meanwhile, Italian lenders Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo declined 0.16% and 1.47%, while Spain's BBVA and Banco Santander plummeted 1.41% and 1.62% respectively.
Elsewhere, Nestle pushed lower, with shares tumbling 2.41%, after the company reported nine-month sales growth that missed analysts' estimates.
On the upside, Nokia surged 5.45%, even as the Finnish mobile-phone maker reported a sixth straight quarterly loss as its Lumia smartphones failed to gain ground from Android-based devices.
In London, FTSE 100 eased 0.08%, although data earlier showed that retail sales in the U.K. rose more-than-expected in September.
U.K. lenders turned broadly higher, as shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.37% and HSBC Holdings climbed 0.50%, while Barclays and Lloyds Banking rallied 0.65% and 1.66% respectively.
Meanwhile, mining stocks held earlier gains, as shares in Evraz jumped 2.65%, while Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton advanced 1.15% and 1.04%.
In addition, oil and gas major BP climbed 0.59%, while Anglo American erased earlier gains, sliding 0.33%
Elsewhere, Man Group dove 7.97%, after the world’s biggest publicly traded hedge-fund manager said outflows increased 57% in the third quarter.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a mixed to lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.07% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.18% fall.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish its weekly report in initial jobless claims, as well as data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.