European Stocks Turn Mixed as Investors Await Yellen, Draghi Speeches

By Investors Hub

European stocks turned mixed on Wednesday as Spain braced for further political upheaval and investors waited for speeches by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.

While the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3 percent.

Spanish banks have succumbed to selling pressure after King Felipe VI said Catalan authorities deliberately bent the law with “irresponsible conduct” and the state needs to ensure Spain’s constitutional order and rule of law.

Royal Dutch Shell shares have also declined on news the oil & gas company has cancelled the $900 million sale of its stake in a Thai gas field to Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company.

ThyssenKrupp shares have fallen after the multinational conglomerate said that workers will be equally represented following the planned merger of its European steel operations with Tata Steel’s.

British postal service and courier firm Royal Mail has also moved to the downside after workers voted in favor of an industrial action.

Meanwhile, German carmakers BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen have climbed 1 after unveiling their monthly US sales figures.

In economic news, the euro area private sector ended the third quarter strongly as output growth accelerated to a four-month high, underpinned by new orders in September, final data from IHS Markit showed.

The composite output index rose to 56.7 from 55.7 a month ago, matching the preliminary estimate. The final services PMI climbed to 55.8 from 54.7 in the previous month.

Eurozone retail sales fell for the second straight month in August, while activity in the U.K.’s services sector expanded at a faster rate than expected in September.