VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - The European markets were stuck in a sideways trend throughout Wednesday's session. The markets fluctuated between small gains and losses over the course of the trading day and finished with mixed results. Investors were in a cautious mood ahead of Thursday's policy meeting of the European Central Bank.
Economic data in Europe was on the light side Wednesday, while a trio of U.S. economic reports had little impact on trading. Investors reacted to a series of corporate events, but appeared reluctant to make any major moves ahead of today's speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. The upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump as the new President of the United States on Friday also has investors in a cautious mood.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.11 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.27 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.29 percent.
The DAX of Germany climbed 0.51 percent, but the CAC 40 of France fell 0.13 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.38 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.10 percent.
In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank increased 0.49 percent. The U.S. Justice Department, along with federal partners, announced a $7.2 billion settlement with Deutsche Bank resolving federal civil claims that Deutsche Bank misled investors in the packaging, securitization, marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities between 2006 and 2007.
Gerresheimer surged 6.62 percent after an upgrade to 'Buy' from 'Hold' by Deutsche Bank.
In Paris, Sanofi rose 0.50 percent. The company announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization in Europe for Suliqua, for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes.
BNP Paribas declined 1.44 percent and Societe Generale weakened by 0.68 percent. Credit Agricole also finished lower by 0.72 percent.
In London, Pearson plunged 29.08 percent. The company said it expects to deliver operating profit in line with guidance for 2016, despite a further unprecedented decline in the fourth-quarter 2016 in North American higher education courseware business. The company also withdrew its operating profit goal for 2018 reflecting portfolio changes and challenging and uncertain markets.
ASML Holding jumped 6.73 percent in Amsterdam. reported significantly higher profit in its fourth quarter, with higher system sales, selling price and improved margin. Looking ahead, for the first quarter, the company sees sequentially lower net sales and margin.
Eurozone inflation climbed as initially estimated in December, final data from Eurostat showed Wednesday. Inflation rose to 1.1 percent in December from 0.6 percent in November. A similar higher rate was last seen in September 2013.
Eurozone construction output grew for the second straight month in November, preliminary data from Eurostat showed Wednesday. Construction output rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent month-over-month in November, the same rate of increase as in October, which was revised down from a 0.8 percent gain reported earlier.
Germany's consumer price inflation quickened in December to its highest level since the middle of 2013, in line with the flash data published earlier, latest figures from Destatis showed Wednesday. The consumer price index rose 1.7 percent year-over-year in December, confirming the preliminary data released on January 3. In November, prices had risen at a stable pace of 0.8 percent.
U.K. unemployment declined unexpectedly at the end of 2016, while earnings growth accelerated reflecting that the labor market remained strong despite the 'Brexit' vote.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday that the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits decreased by 10,100 in December from November, confounding expectations for an increase of 5,000.
Nonetheless, the claimant count held steady at 2.3 percent in December, in line with expectations.
The ILO unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.8 percent during the three months ended November, the lowest since September 2005. In the same period of 2015, the jobless rate was 5.1 percent.
British households remained pessimistic about their financial outlook in January and their financial woes intensified on rising inflation, results of a survey by IHS Markit and financial information provider Ipsos Mori revealed Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted Household Finance Index, or HFI, dropped to 43.9 in January from 45.2 in December.
Consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of December, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday. The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.3 percent in December after edging up by 0.2 percent in November.
After reporting a drop in U.S. industrial production in the previous month, the Federal Reserve released a report on Wednesday showing that production rebounded strongly in the month of December. The Fed said industrial production climbed by 0.8 percent in December after slumping by a revised 0.7 percent in November.
Economists had expected production to increase by 0.6 percent compared to the 0.4 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.
Homebuilder confidence in the U.S. saw a modest pullback in the month of January, according to a report released by the National Association of Home Builders on Wednesday.
The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dipped to 67 in January after jumping to a revised 69 in December. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 69 from the 70 originally reported for the previous month.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX