European stocks mixed to lower after string of data; Dax down 0.26%

Investing.com - European stocks were mixed to lower on Wednesday, as markets were jittery after the release of French, German and Spanish data, although an upbeat Chinese manufacturing report mildly supported sentiment.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.25%, France’s CAC 40 edged 0.09% lower, while Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.26%.

Market research group Markit said that its preliminary German manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to a seasonally adjusted 48.8 in January from a final reading of 46.0 in December, expanding at the fastest rate in eleven months.

Meanwhile, Markit's preliminary French manufacturing PMI fell to a seasonally adjusted 42.9 in January, a four-month low, from a final reading of 44.6 in December.

A separate report showed that Spain's unemployment rate ticked up to 26.02% in the third quarter, from 25.02% in the previous quarter, slightly above expectations for a rise to 26.0%.

Financial stocks were broadly lower, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale declined 0.47% and 0.06%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank tumbled 1.33% and 2.02% respectively.

Bloomberg reported earlier that Commerzbank is preparing to cut 4,000 to 6,000 jobs over the next four years to reduce costs and meet a profit goal.

Peripheral lenders also posted sharp gains, with Italian banks Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo dropping 0.58% and 0.89%, while Spain's Banco Santander and BBVA slid 0.13% and 0.31%.

In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 added 0.11%, supported by mild gains in oil and mining stocks.

Oil and gas major Anglo American was on the upside, climbing 0.55%, while rival BP eased up 0.03%.

Mining giant Rio Tinto also trended higher, with shares advancing 0.51%, as did copper producer Xstrata, up 0.48%, while rival companies Eurasian Natural Resources and Evraz plummeted 0.95% and 0.92% respectively.

In the financial sector, stocks were broadly lower. Lloyds Banking fell 0.17% and HSBC Holdings edged 0.18% lower, while the Royal Bank of Scotland retreated 0.29% and Barclays dropped 0.31%.

Elsewhere, EasyJet surged 3.45% after saying first-quarter sales gained.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a mixed open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.29% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 1.33% drop.

Also Thursday, data showed that China’s preliminary HSBC manufacturing PMI improved to 51.9 in January, a two-year high, from a final reading of 51.5 in December, adding to signs of a rebound in the world’s second largest economy.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims.