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Europe Stocks Close Lower as Investors Monitor UK Budget Update, Deutsche Bank Down 7%

Eric Piedmont | AFP | Getty Images
  • The big economic news in Europe on Wednesday came out of the U.K., as Finance Minister Rishi Sunak delivered his half-yearly budget update.
  • European traders digested a busy morning of earnings, with Schneider Electric, Deutsche Bank, Heineken and Banco Santander just some of those reporting before the bell.
  • Deutsche Bank reported a fall in revenues at its investment banking unit Wednesday, but still managed to beat expectations and post its fifth consecutive quarter of profit.

LONDON — European stocks closed lower Wednesday as investors digested corporate earnings, fresh economic data and a budget update from the U.K. finance minister.

The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 Index provisionally closed down by 0.4%, with mining stocks leading the losses with a fall of 2%.

On Wall Street, U.S. equities were mixed Wednesday as traders monitored the latest batch of quarterly earnings reports. Tech majors Alphabet and Microsoft both rose in early deals after posting strong results.

In Asia,shares closed lower overnight, with Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong seeing big losses. New data showed industrial profits in China surged 16.3% year-on-year in September.

The big economic news in Europe on Wednesday came out of the U.K., as Finance Minister Rishi Sunak delivered his budget statement in the afternoon.

The half-yearly update on the country's public finances included multi-billion pound spending on health care and transport, as well as a rise in the national living wage.

Earnings

European traders digested a busy morning of earnings, with Schneider Electric, Deutsche Bank, Heineken and Banco Santander just some of those reporting before the bell.

Deutsche Bank reported a fall in revenues at its investment banking unit Wednesday, but still managed to beat expectations and post its fifth consecutive quarter of profit. Shares of Germany's biggest bank fell 6.9%.

Santander posted a 24% increase in net profit in the third quarter, buoyed by a surge in demand for mortgages in the U.K. Still, the Spanish lender's stock dipped 2.8%.

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- CNBC's Ryan Browne contributed to this report.

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