European stocks mixed ahead of BCE, Fed; DAX up 0.32%

Investing.com - European stock markets were mixed to higher on Wednesday, as investors eyed a speech by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi as well as the Federal Reserve’s rate statement later in the day, while Greek debt worries continued to weigh.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.04%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.25%.

Concerns over a potential Greek default remained as talks between euro zone finance ministers on a deal to help restructure the country’s sovereign debt stalled on Tuesday.

A Greek official said the country had the euro zone's support to complete the debt swap talks in the "coming days." Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said she remained positive that a deal could still be reached.

Italian lender Unicredit led gains with shares surging 4.48%, closely followed by Intesa Sanpaolo, whose shares climbed 1.86%.

German Deutsche Bank also jumped 1.09%, while France’s Societe Generale and BNP Paribas retreated 0.05% and 0.20%.

Meanwhile, SAP AG, the biggest maker of business management software, saw shares fall 0.52%, despite forecasting operating profit to rise as much as 11% this year helped by demand for its Hana real-time analytics software and mobile applications.

In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose inched 0.05% higher, supported by gains in mining stocks.

Rio Tinto led gains with shares climbing 1.35%, while Bhp Billiton advanced 0.79%.

Meanwhile, copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys were also higher, with shares jumping 1.02% and 1.63% respectively.

Financial stocks were mixed. Lloyds Banking saw shares advance 1.10% and Barclays rose 0.27%, while HSBC Holdings and the Royal Bank of Scotland declined 0.08% and 1.52%.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.02%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.75% increase.

Later in the day, the Ifo Institute was to publish a report on German business climate, while European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was due to speak.

In the U.S., industry data was to be released on pending home sales, as well as official data on crude oil stockpiles. The Fed was also to announce the federal funds rate and publish its official rate statement.

Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum was to begin its five-day annual meeting in Davos in Switzerland.