Investing.com – European stocks were little changed on Wednesday, as losses in energy and financial stocks weighed, although the approval a four month extension of Greece’s bailout still lent support to equity markets.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased 0.07%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.05%, while Germany’s DAX 30 inched up 0.02%.
European equities found support after Greece’s package of economic reforms was approved by its euro zone creditors on Tuesday, securing Athens an extension of its bailout for another four months.
The package of measures includes taxation and public spending reforms and consolidating pension funds to reduce costs. Athens also pledged not to unwind state privatization programs and to stick to budget targets.
Enery stocks were broadly lower, on the back of dropping oil prices. Shares in Italian oil and gas major Eni tumbled 1.05% and Norway’s Statoil lost 1.10%, while Russian company Gazprom plummeted 1.45%
Financial stocks were also broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) declining 1.27% and 0.82%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) dropped 0.50%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) slid 0.67% and 0.86% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) fell 0.27% and 0.36%.
Elsewhere, Telefonica (MADRID:TEF) SA tumbled 1.44% after the Spanish telecom company reported a 36% drop in fourth-quarter operating profit.
On the upside, France’s largest insurer Axa surged 4.60% after posting a 12% rise in full-year profit.
Suez Environnement, Europe’s second-biggest water company, posted a 19% increase in 2014 profit, but shares still dropped 1.50%.
In London, FTSE 100 slipped 0.04% led by Weir Group (LONDON:WEIR), whose shares plunged 6.17% after the engineering company said it expected a “significant reduction” in 2015 revenue.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mostly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) edged up 0.15% and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) added 0.17%, while Glencore Xstrata rose 0.22% and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) rallied 1.93%.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed as Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) edged up 0.11% and 0.14% respectively, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) eased 0.09% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) retreated 0.52%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% uptick, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.03% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.06% loss.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on new home sales.
Source: investing.com
