BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks were subdued on Wednesday as investors awaited cues from key central bank meetings and the U.K. general election.
A poll showed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now likely to win only a modest majority in Thursday's vote, raising fresh uncertainty around the outcome of Brexit.
According to a YouGov forecast on Tuesday, the Tories are expected to win 339 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, Labour 231, the Scottish National Party 41, and the Liberal Democrats 15.
Meanwhile, investors were also reacting to conflicting narratives on the trade front. The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington is laying the groundwork for a delay in the latest tariffs on China, due to take effect on Sunday.
However, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the 'tariffs are still on the table'. Analysts say that a trade deal might have to wait until after the U.S. presidential election in November 2020.
The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.2 percent to 404.52 after declining 0.3 percent in the previous session.
France's CAC 40 index slid 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was little changed with a negative bias while the German DAX was marginally higher.
Swiss banking major Credit Suisse Group moved lower despite announcing it continued momentum in 2019 with strong growth across key metrics.
Spanish fashion retailer Industria de Diseño Textil rose over 2 percent after its nine-month net profit increased 12 percent to 2.72 billion euros from last year's 2.44 billion euros.
Telefonica Deutschland shares fell 2 percent after the mobile operator cut its dividend, saying it wants to upgrade its network over the next three years.
Aurubis soared 7.5 percent after reporting its earnings for fiscal 2018/19.
Stagecoach Group shares soared 6 percent. The transport operator reported profit before tax of 65.9 million pounds for the half-year ended 26 October 2019 compared to 48.9 million pounds, previous year.
Petra Diamonds jumped 5 percent on news it has restarted its mining operations in South Africa.
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