(MENAFN- AFP) European stock markets slipped on Wednesday, with traders sitting tight ahead of further clues on the timing of US rate rises, analysts said.
London's FTSE 100 index dipped 0.06 percent lower to stand at 7,990.84 points in mid-afternoon deals.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 fell 0.36 percent to 11,810.97 points and the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.20 percent to 5,107.32 compared with Tuesday's close.
The Frankfurt and Paris stock markets had surged on Tuesday after a European Central Bank executive board member signalled that the ECB would temporarily ramp up its stimulus programme aimed at boosting the eurozone economy.
In foreign exchange trading Wednesday, the euro rebounded to $1.1134 after dropping to $1.1106 early. The single currency had been trading at $1.1149 late in New York Tuesday.
US stocks opened lower as investors weighed mixed earnings from retailers, and awaited the release of the Federal Reserve minutes of the April monetary policy meeting.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.16 percent to 18,282.80 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.15 percent to 2,124.65 points, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.18 percent to 5,060.91.
Traders in Europe were also anticipating word out of the Fed, which should provide clues about its plan for lifting interest rates from record lows.
"We're seeing plenty of caution ahead of the open on Wall Street on Wednesday as investors eye the... minutes for further clues on the timing of the first rate hike," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda trading group.
"Since removing its forward guidance earlier this year, the Fed has offered very little insight into when that first rate hike will come and that is making investors quite anxious, particularly around these kinds of releases."
All eyes were also on the fines imposed on banks by British and US regulators over the rigging of foreign exchange markets.
US regulators on Wednesday fined Swiss bank UBS $342 million for manipulation of forex markets, and later slapped Barclays Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Citicorp and the Royal Bank of Scotland with nearly $6 billion in penalties for conspiring to manipulate the massive currency market.
Despite the heavy hit, investors appeared to have already factored the fines into their outlook. Shortly after the announcement, RBS shares were up 1.72 percent to 354.50 pence and Barclays won 2.65 percent to 269.65 pence.
UBS shares gained 3.38 percent to 20.49 Swiss francs in Zurich.
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