Forexpros – European stock markets trimmed losses on Wednesday, after preliminary data showed that German consumer prices rose in line with expectations in March but sustained euro zone debt concerns continued to weigh.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.23%, France’s CAC 40 eased 0.05%, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 0.25%.
A preliminary report showed earlier that German consumer price inflation rose 0.3% in March, in line with expectations, after a 0.7% increase the previous month.
Meanwhile, investors remained focused on Spanish borrowing costs ahead of the country’s budget statement on Friday, amid concerns that the government will pull back on imposing harsh austerity measures in the face of a looming recession.
Sentiment found support earlier after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said earlier that the euro zone’s debt crisis is “almost over”.
Financial stocks remained broadly lower as shares in French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas tumbled 2.04% and 0.98%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank declined 0.31% and 1.28% respectively.
Concern’s over Madrid’s financial troubles also affected Spanish lenders, with shares in BBVA dropping 0.50% and Banco Santander sliding 0.32%.
French oil company Total was one of the top losers of the day as shares plummeted 1.28% after a gas leak from its Elgin platform in the U.K. North Sea continued for a fourth day.
On the upside, Finmeccanica, Italy’s second largest industrial group, surged 5.56% after Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Orsi said he sees no more exceptional losses in the future.
In London, FTSE 100 slipped 0.08%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower after data showed that the U.K. economy contracted more-than-initially estimated in the fourth quarter.
Shares in Barclays tumbled 2.41% and Lloyds Banking declined 0.90%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland eased 0.03% and HSBC Holdings edged up 0.02%.
Elsewhere, copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys remained on the downside, with shares plunging 2.17% and 2.12%, while mining giant Rio Tinto erased earlier gains, shedding 0.52%, after saying 2012 continues to be a “challenging year.”
JKX Oil & Gas also plunged 7.48% after the company said it will not pay an interim dividend for 2011 and that financial resources over the next six months “will be stretched.”
Meanwhile, London-based gold mining company Petropavlovsk Plc climbed 1.25% after reporting sales that exceeded analyst estimates.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.21%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.15% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.20% gain.
Also Wednesday, official data confirmed that the French economy grew by 0.2% in the last three months of 2011, in line with preliminary estimates. The euro zone economy contracted by 0.3% in the fourth quarter.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on durable goods orders, followed by a report on crude oil stockpiles.
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