European stocks mostly fall on eve of ECB

Europe's stock markets mainly fell Wednesday, mirroring a downbeat session in Asia, as investors examined weak data on the eve of the European Central Bank's latest interest rate gathering.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies dropped 0.30 percent to 6,868.50 points in midday trade.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 slid 0.16 percent to 11,262 points but the CAC 40 index in Paris rose 0.14 percent to 4,875.80 from Tuesday's close.

European indices had also fallen Tuesday after recent strong gains, with traders sitting tight as the eurozone awaits fresh central bank stimulus.

On Thursday, the ECB will unveil details of the bond purchase programme it is embarking on later this month.

"Things went from bad to worse for the European markets as disappointing economic data gave investors another reason to abandon the FTSE and eurozone indices," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

"Bar slight growth by Germany and France, the services PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) data from the eurozone as a whole was weak, slipping from last month's figure."

Meanwhile, in foreign exchange deals, the euro hit a five-week low of $1.1130, compared with $1.1178 late in New York.

"The euro/dollar is on the verge of taking another leg lower, a day before the ECB meeting," added Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

"Although not much will be expected from this particular meeting, the focus will be on how the ECB will achieve the 60-billion-euro a month of the QE stimulus programme it is planning to launch this month. "

Asia stock markets mostly fell Wednesday after a retreat on Wall Street that was fuelled by profit-taking.

Japanese equities were also hit by a stronger yen, which hurts exporters, while Sydney dipped as data showed Australia's economy grew more slowly than expected last year.

Tokyo lost 0.59 percent, Sydney fell 0.54 percent and Seoul lost 0.15 percent.

Hong Kong meanwhile fell 0.96 percent but Shanghai rose 0.51 percent in value.

Dealers took their lead from New York, where the three main indexes -- which have been on a six-year bull run -- ticked downwards after lacklustre US auto sales.

The Dow fell 0.47 percent and the S&P 500 slipped 0.45 percent, both a day after hitting new records.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.56 percent on Tuesday, having earlier topped 5,000 points for the first time in 15 years.

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