European stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors awaited cues from flash eurozone consumer confidence for February as well as the FOMC meeting minutes due later in the day.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.3 percent at 490.61 after closing 0.1 percent lower on Tuesday.
The German DAX and France’s CAC 40 both edged up around 0.1 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.8 percent.
Coffee group JDE Peet fell 5.2 percent after it forecast organic sales growth at the low end of its mid-term target.
British lender HSBC Holdings plummeted 7 percent as it reported a plunge in fourth-quarter profit after a charge on Chinese bank stake.
Peer Barclays rose about 2 percent on share buyback news.
Mining giant Rio Tinto lost about 2 percent after reporting a dip in profits over the year, as expected.
Glencore slumped 5.8 percent after posting a steep drop in annual profit.
Fresenius SE shares rallied 4 percent. The German health care company reported a net loss for the fourth quarter, mainly due to results from the valuation effect of Fresenius Medical Care to the tune of 521 million euros. Revenue remained almost unchanged from previous year.
Market Analysis
European Shares Mixed As Earnings Disappoint
2024-02-21 09:48:16