The French market was trading lower on Wednesday afternoon, erasing some losses made early on, ahead of the release of the weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Oil-related stocks and lenders were under pressure.
On the economic front, France's consumer confidence increased more than expected in February, data from statistical office INSEE showed. The consumer confidence index rose to 92 in February from 90 in January. This was more than the 91 score expected by economists.
U.K. mortgage approvals increased in January for the first time since June, the British Bankers' Association reported. Mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to 36,394 from 35,816 in the prior month. Economists had forecast it to rise to 36,000. But approvals were 20 percent lower than last January.
A preliminary gauge of China's manufacturing activity rebounded unexpectedly in February even as the export sector remain sluggish, flash figures from Markit Economics showed. The HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to a four-month high of 50.1 from 49.7 in January on the back of increased output and new orders.
The CAC 40 index fell 0.24 percent.
Vallourec declined around 5 percent. Technip was notably lower.
Credit Agricole, Societe Generale and BNP Paribas were losing between 2 percent and 1.5 percent.
Conglomerate Bouygues fell moderately after reporting annual results.
Insurer Axa and technology firm Safran gained 3.4 percent each. Both companies reported financial results.
Other markets in the region were mostly lower.
The Asian stocks rose broadly as Greece successfully secured another four months of emergency funding and U.S. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen indicated that the Fed is not likely to begin raising interest rates for at least the next couple of monetary policy meetings.
In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, stocks rose as dovish comments by Fed Chair Yellen before the Senate Banking Committee helped investors shrug off mixed home price, services sector and consumer confidence data.
Crude for April delivery fell $0.19 to $49.09 per barrel, while April gold added $10.7 to $1208.0 a troy ounce.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis