Forexpros – European stock markets were mixed on Wednesday, as sustained concerns over the handling of Spain’s sovereign debt crisis continued to weigh on investor confidence.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.36%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.33%, while Germany’s DAX 30 retreated 0.14%.
A Spanish short-term government bond auction briefly supported sentiment on Tuesday as the country raised the full targeted amount of EUR3 billion, although borrowing costs almost doubled.
Markets remained jittery however amid concerns that Spain’s government will not be able to meet deficit reduction targets in the face of a looming recession and may therefore become the next euro zone country to require bailout continued to weigh on market sentiment.
Sentiment also weakened after a flurry of mixed U.S. data on Tuesday failed to paint a reassuring picture of the country’s economic recovery.
Financial stocks were mixed as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas rose 0.61% and Dutch ING group climbed 0.57%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank lost 0.25%.
Meanwhile, Spanish oil and gas group Repsol saw shares tumble 1.92% 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.
Elsewhere in the energy sector, 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 3.88% after reporting first-quarter revenue of EUR3.83 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of EUR3.74 billion.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 edged up 0.08%, supported by strong gains in mining stocks.
Shares in Bhp Billiton and Rio Tinto climbed 1.88% and 1.54% respectively, while copper producer Xstrata added 0.51%.
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 one of the session’s top gainers, jumping 1.82% 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.
Elsewhere, financial stocks were higher. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.83% and Barclays advanced 0.47%, while Lloyds banking and HSBC Holdings added 0.13% and 0.12% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.12%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.10% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on crude oil stockpiles.
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