Investing.com - European markets opened lower on Wednesday, as investors eyed the release of euro zone inflation data due later in the day, as well as a fresh batch of corporate earnings reports.
The EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.11%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.26%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was down 0.20% by 03:40 a.m. ET (07:40 GMT).
Later Wednesday, Eurostat was set to release final data on consumer price inflation in the single currency bloc for the month of December.
Markets were also jittery after members of the center-left Social Democrats in one of Germany's regions voted against talks with Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats, sparking concerns over whether she can form a coalition.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) lost 1.14% and 1.19%, while Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) inched up 0.04% and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) declined 0.64% in Germany.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) rose 0.29% and 0.26% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) slid 0.40% and 0.47%.
Elsewhere, shares in Zalando SE (DE:ZALG) dipped 0.07% after the German online retailer said it plans to pursue its strategy of investing to gain market share in 2018 after reporting preliminary fourth-quarter sales growth and operating profit in line with analysts' expectations.
Carrefour (PA:CARR) tumbled 0.92% even as the company's Brasil arm said its fourth-quarter gross sales climbed 5.3% from last year to $4.23 billion.
In London, FTSE 100 slipped 0.12%, weighed by Provident Financial (LON:PFG), whose shares dove 12.91% after the company said expects a £120 million loss at its consumer credit business as it still struggles to win back customers following a problematic reorganisation of the business last year.
Informa Plc (LON:INF) added to losses, with shares down 8.27% following reports the publisher is in discussions to buy rival UBM Plc.
Elsewhere, Burberry Group (LON:BRBY) said that like-for-like store sales rose by a weaker-than-expected 2% over the holidays, sending shares down 6.55%.
Financial stocks were also mostly lower, as HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) edged down 0.14% and Barclays (LON:BARC) declined 0.50%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) dropped 0.87%. Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) overperformed with shares up 0.14%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) inched up 0.04% and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) climbed 0.65%, while Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) lost 1% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) dipped 0.06%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.44% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.22% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.26% rise.