BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks were mixed in cautious trade on Wednesday as panic about the coronavirus in China abated and investors looked ahead to the first European Central Bank (ECB) meeting of 2020 for directional cues.
The Geneva-based World Health Organization said it would hold an emergency meeting today to decide whether to designate the outbreak as an international public health emergency.
The pan European Stoxx 600 was marginally lower at 423.33 after losing 0.1 percent in the previous session.
The German DAX was up 0.15 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was rising 0.1 percent as Chinese authorities ramped up efforts to control the coronavirus outbreak. France's CAC 40 index slipped 0.1 percent.
Daimler lost 1.1 percent. The German automaker reported that its fiscal 2019 preliminary Group earnings before interest and tax or EBIT was 5.6 billion euros, sharply lower than 11.1 billion euros recorded in fiscal 2018.
BMW, Volkswagen and Renault were moving lower after U.S. President Donald Trump struck a cautiously optimistic tone on trade talks with Europe.
Software AG shares were little changed after hedge fund manager David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital took an unspecified stake in the business software developer.
Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holding N.V. declined 1.1 percent after it launched a three-year share-buyback program of up to 6 billion euros.
Technology company Sage Group jumped 4.5 percent after delivering a strong quarter and backing its guidance for the full financial year.
Designer brand Burberry Group lost 2.2 percent after its sales in Hong Kong dropped by half over the Christmas quarter.
Berkeley Group Holdings soared 5 percent. The company said it will increase its returns to shareholders by about 455 million pounds ($594.00 million) over the next two years
Retailer J Sainsbury fell more than 2 percent. The company announced that it appointed Simon Roberts as Chief Executive Officer, with effect from June 1.
Miner Antofagasta declined 3 percent after unveiling its quarterly output figures.
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