By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Erasing earlier gains, European stock
markets headed for a fourth straight day in the red on Wednesday,
with investors waiting for minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's
latest meeting to help set the trading tone.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index gave up 0.3% to 339.12, after posting
the biggest loss in four months on Tuesday.
The recent losses have come after global stock markets last week
traded at or near record highs, creating fears of an asset bubble
and spurring concerns that a correction is due. Specifically for
Europe, a string of disappointing German data has also highlighted
weaknesses in the euro zone's powerhouse and led to concerns the
country is heading toward zero economic growth. Read: Is Germany
leading the euro zone toward the no-growth cliff?
A dearth of economic data for Europe on Wednesday meant that
investors instead focused on key central-bank events. European
Central Bank President Mario Draghi is due to speak in London in
the evening, while Executive Board members Benoît Curé and Peter
Praet spoke in Athens and Paris, respectively. Praet said the ECB's
targeted long-term refinancing operation will break a vicious
spiral of high lending rates for companies, high credit risk and
poor economic performance.
The main event, however, will be the release of minutes from the
Fed's June meeting due at 7 p.m. London time, or 2 p.m. Eastern
Time. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen is clearly among the doves on the
policy-setting committee, and investors are hoping that the minutes
will "provide some clarity and reassurance that Yellen can continue
to hold sway over her more hawkish colleagues," Rebecca O'Keeffe,
head of investment at stockbroker Interactive Investor, said in a
note. Read: Minutes may shed some light on how and when the Fed
will hike
After a solid June jobs report out last week, several banks have
moved forward their forecast as to when the Fed will introduce the
first rate hike.
Europe movers
Back in Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index suffered one of the
biggest setbacks among country-specific indexes, down 0.6% to
6,698.10. Admiral Group PLC , slid 5.4% in London after the insurer
reported a drop in first-half turnover.
Other insurance companies fell alongside Admiral, with shares of
Aviva PLC down 3.5% and Legal & General Group PLC 1.2%
lower.
Also in London, shares of BP PLC (BP) lost 1.4% after Deutsche
Bank cut the oil major to hold from buy, according to Dow Jones
Newswires.
More broadly in Europe, airlines rebounded after a sharp selloff
on Tuesday sparked by a profit warning from Air France-KLM . On
Wednesday, Air France-KLM climbed 1.1%, Deutsche Lufthansa AG
gained 0.6% and EasyJet PLC picked up 1.8%.
Gemalto NV added 2.6% in Amsterdam after Morgan Stanley lifted
the digital-security company to equal-weight from underweight.
Germany's DAX 30 index slipped 0.1% to 9,764.48, and France's
CAC 40 index fell 0.1% to 4,339.95.
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