Europe cautious as Ukraine instability remains; euro zone data beats



European stocks were lower on Wednesday, with investors cautious despite the imminent threat of conflict in Ukraine receding on Tuesday.




FTSE FTSE 100 Index 6790.04 
  
-33.73 -0.49% 243956158 
DAX DAX Index 9570.87 
  
-18.28 -0.19% 31868152 
CAC 40 CAC 40 Index 4390.73 
  
-5.17 -0.12% 41778356 
IBEX 35 IBEX 35 Idx 10189.60 
  
62.90 0.62% 132523780 


Euro zone data beats

The Euro Stoxx 600 Index inched lower as investors took a breather after seeing stellar gains in the previous session. Tuesday's rally came as Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to back away from military action in the Ukrainian region of Crimea. Troops that had been on a training exercise near Ukraine's border returned to base and Putin stated that any force used would only be a "last resort." 

(Read More: Obama, Merkel discuss resolution to Ukraine crisis)


Russia's MICEX Index, which had seen a rebound of 5 percent on Tuesday after tanking 11 percent on Monday, was trading steady with declines of around 1 percent. 

On the data front, the euro zone's private sector logged its busiest month in over 2 and a half years in February, outstripping earlier estimates. 

Markit's euro zone Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), climbed to 53.3 in February from 52.9 the previous month, beating the flash reading of 52.7 reported at the end of February. The boost in a business activity was once again led by Germany, which posted a 33 month high in output growth. 

(Read More: Euro zone businessactivity strongest in 32 months) 

A revised figure for euro zone GDP confirmed a reading of 0.3 percent for the fourth quarter of 2013 and retail sales for the bloc showed a rise of 1.6 percent for the month of January. This was a rebound from a dip of 1.3 percent in December.

This data comes ahead of a Governing Council meeting by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday with market watchers keen to pick up any signs on whether the central bank is looking for more economic stimulus in the coming months. 

in Asia, equities were higher on Wednesday following an inspiring handover from Wall Street. However, Chinese shares remained sluggish. China's annual meeting of parliament, the National People's Congress, which kicked off Wednesday, also provided the market with support. China has set its gross domestic product (GDP) growth target for 2014 at 7.5 percent, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said. 

Here's how to invest in Europe

Alexander Gunz, fund manager at Heptagon Capital, talks about investing in the European industrial recovery. 


Adidas shares fall

Shares of French supermarket Carrefour rose 1 percent after announcing its 2013 operating profit had risen by 5.4 percent. 

Sports retailer Adidas saw its shares lose 0.6 percent in morning trade as the German firm announced that weakening emerging market currencies would affect its 2014 earnings. 

Meanwhile, Standard Chartered shares rose 1.7 percent after it cut its bonus pool by 15 percent and predicted modest growth for 2014. However, its profit missed forecasts at $6.95 billion, against estimates of $7.1 billion.