Europe lacks direction amid banking stocks rebound

After having booked heavy losses a day before, the European stocks opened weaker this Wednesday, however, quickly embarked upon a minor-recovery mode amid a solid rebound staged by the banking sector stocks.

Moreover, upbeat services PMI reports from across the Euro area combined with the oil-price rebound, also failed to lift the sentiment around the European indices, as earnings results continued to drive the investors’ moods.

On the corporate news space, HSBC Holdings Plc rose 3.3% after announcing it will buy back $2.5 billion of its own shares. ING Groep NV jumped 7.4% as the biggest Dutch lender saw profits increase three-folds. Societe Generale SA climbed 4.2% and Credit Agricole SA advanced 2.2% after reporting a jump in quarterly profit. 

Currently, Germany's DAX 30 index trades +0.12% at 10,155, while the UK's FTSE index declines -0.22% to 6,630. Among other European indices, the French CAC 40 index slides -0.27% to 4,316, while the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 index gains +0.17% to 2,912 points.