Investing.com - European markets were mixed on Thursday, as investors awaited the European Central Bank's monthly interest rate decision.
The EURO STOXX 50 eased 0.08%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.21%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was down 0.22% by 03:40 a.m. ET (07:40 GMT).
Later Thursday, the ECB was expected to leave interest rates unchanged. Investors will be especially focusing on the press conference following the decision for any clues on the central bank's future policy moves.
Meanwhile, markets were still jittery after White House officials on Tuesday said that U.S. President Donald Trump was planning on using his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday to underline his "America First" policies.
Such policies include a potential withdrawal from the North American free-trade agreement and disavowing the global climate change accord.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) gained 0.19% and 0.48%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) added 0.02% and 0.75%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) advanced 0.28% and 1.04%, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) climbed 0.89% and 0.55% respectively.
Elsewhere, Telecom Italia (MI:TLIT) saw shares rise 0.20% after the company on Wednesday denied rumours that Chief Executive Amos Genish could be leaving the Italian phone group less than four months into the job.
Genish's predecessors left the company over disagreements with Vivendi (PA:VIV), Telecom Italia's biggest shareholder.
In related news, an Italian regional court earlier in the week postponed the first hearing of an appeal filed by Vivendi against an Italian communications authority decision regarding its stakes in Telecom Italia and Mediaset. Shares in Vivendi were down 0.89% in early European trade on Thursday.
In London, FTSE 100 dipped 0.02%, weighed by Sage Group (LON:SGE), whose shares lost 1.41% after saying, in a trading update on Wednesday, that while its North American unit has “performed strongly”, France “continues to significantly underperform relative to the rest of the group, weighing on both organic revenue and recurring revenue growth.”
Diageo (LON:DGE) added to losses, as shares dropped tumbled 0.93% after the distiller posted a stronger than expected rise in first-half organic net sales, but warned that the rising pound would weigh on its profits over the remainder of the period.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) dipped 0.07% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) slid 0.38%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) added 0.17% and Barclays (LON:BARC) rose 0.24%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mostly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Anglo American (LON:AAL) added 0.12% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) rose 0.32%, while rival company BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) gained 0.36%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a mixed open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.01% downtick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.16% rise.