European Markets Finished Mixed In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Wednesday's session with mixed results. Traders were in a cautious mood ahead of today's speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Ahead of Powell's remarks, Trump attacked the Fed Chairman in an interview with the Washington Post published late Tuesday.

"So far, I'm not even a little bit happy with my selection of Jay. Not even a little bit," Trump stated. "I think that the Fed is way off-base with what they're doing."

Meanwhile, traders have started to become more optimistic for a resolution to the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. A report from the New York Times said President Donald Trump has signaled a new willingness to reach an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

While Trump has publicly continued to talk tough on trade with China, several American officials told the Times the president is increasingly worried about the costs of a prolonged trade war on the financial markets and the broader economy.

The Time said a potential trade truce could be reached, delaying new tariffs for several months while the world's two largest economies try to work out the issues dividing them.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index weakened 0.00 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.06 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.15 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped 0.09 percent, but the CAC of France rose 0.00 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.18 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.04 percent.

In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank dipped 0.76 percent on reports of another high-level shake-up.

In Paris, AXA Group advanced 0.73 percent. The insurance firm has announced a financial update, and the Group's new capital management policy, with an increased dividend payout range.

High-technology firm Safran declined 1.94 percent after its shareholders approved the merger of Zodiac Aerospace with 99.88 percent voting in favor.

In London, wealth manager Brewin Dolphin lost 3.19 percent despite the firm posting a 19 percent rise in annual profit and raising dividend payout.

Credit Suisse Group fell 0.63 percent in Zurich. The banking giant published its Investment Outlook for 2019, noting that equities should regain their footing in 2019, as the economy weathers various risks and expands.

Cement giant LafargeHolcim dropped 1.73 percent despite confirming its 2018 full year targets.

Germany's consumer confidence is set to slightly weaken at the end of the year as high inflation rates and global economic uncertainty weigh on households' sentiment, survey results from the GfK showed on Wednesday.

The forward-looking consumer confidence indicator is set to drop to 10.4 from 10.6 in November, the Nuremberg-based GfK said in its latest report. Economists had forecast a reading of 10.5.

Economic growth in the U.S. was unrevised in the third quarter, according to the second reading released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. The report said real gross domestic product jumped by 3.5 percent in the third quarter, unrevised from the initial estimate and in line with economist estimates.

New home sales in the U.S. showed a substantial decrease from an upwardly revised level in the month of October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. The Commerce Department said new home sales plummeted by 8.9 percent to an annual rate of 533,000 in October from an upwardly revised rate of 597,000 in September.

Economists had expected new home sales to rise to a rate of 575,000 from the 553,000 originally reported for the previous month.