(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a subdued note Wednesday, as investors consider taking some profits following a lackluster session on Wall Street overnight. U.S. stocks ended almost flat on a mixed note Tuesday after rising to new 18-month highs in the previous session.
Investors await the revised December quarter GDP data from the eurozone along with factory orders data from Germany for clues on the health of the domestic economy.
A report released by the British Retail Consortium earlier in the day showed that shop price inflation in Great Britain declined in March to 1.2 percent compared to 1.7 percent in February. Overall inflation declined to its lowest level since November.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan maintained its key interest rate at near-zero level at the end of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday and withheld unveiling further support measures to tackle deflation.
In an unanimous vote, the policy board of the central bank, led by Governor Masaaki Shirakawa decided to leave its uncollateralized overnight call rate unchanged at 0.10% and pledged to maintain an extremely accommodative financial environment. The last change in the rate was a 0.10% cut in December 2008.
Asian stock markets were mostly higher Wednesday on expectations record low interest rates will help underpin the global economic recovery.
In the release of its March minutes on Tuesday, the Fed said that meeting participants agreed that economic activity continued to strengthen and that the labor market appeared to be stabilizing.
The economic recovery is likely to proceed at a moderate pace, the Fed felt and noted that rates would remain low for a period dictated by economic conditions. Some had speculated the oft used "extended period" phrase meant six months.
Crude oil prices hovered mostly unchanged near $87 a barrel in Asian trading today, while trading in the U.S. index futures suggest that the Dow could drop 12 points at the opening bell on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks ended on a mixed note Tuesday, as a lack of substantial change in the economic outlook provided by the Federal Reserve's March minutes limited trading enthusiasm. The major averages ended on opposite sides of the unchanged mark after Monday's solid gains. The Dow fell by over 3 points but ended well off of its worst levels of the day, while the Nasdaq rose 0.3% and the S&P 500 edged up 0.17%.
In domestic corporate news, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG has announced a joint venture with SGL Carbon SE to build a $100 million carbon fibre manufacturing plant in Moses Lake, Washington, to supply components for BMW's upcoming electric car.
