European stocks hovered around breakeven levels on Wednesday after a string of record closes, as investors took time to assess geopolitical developments and braced for a slew of anticipated US economic data.
By 11:05 a.m., the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was virtually unchanged, while Germany’s DAX was up 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 was down 0.3%, and Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.6%.
As for individual stocks, Nestlé continued its losses from the previous session. The company indicated that it is recalling some infant formula products due to potential contamination.
Analysts noted that financial markets are moving beyond the turmoil caused by the weekend U.S. strike on Venezuela that led to the arrest of the Latin American country's leader, Nicolas Maduro.
Some of the focus is expected to shift away from geopolitical developments towards a forthcoming set of crucial US economic indicators.
Economists expect a payroll data release from ADP on Wednesday to show that U.S. private companies added about 49,000 jobs in December, reversing a decline of 32,000 in November. Separately, another measure is expected to show that job openings, an indicator of labor demand, fell slightly in November to 7.61 million.
The health of the labor market has been a crucial factor in the Federal Reserve's recent interest rate decisions. Policymakers at the US central bank cut borrowing costs several times in 2025, prioritizing addressing the declining employment picture over persistent inflation indicators.
Elsewhere, an index of key U.S. services sector activity is also due for release. Services are a vital part of the U.S. economy, accounting for more than two-thirds of total activity. As a result, the ISM figures could provide valuable insight into the state of the world's largest economy at the end of the fourth quarter.
Oil prices declined
Brent crude futures fell 0.9% to $60.18 a barrel by 10:16 a.m., while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined 1.2% to $56.46 a barrel.
This decline came after President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States and Venezuela had reached an agreement that would see Caracas export up to $2 billion worth of domestic oil to the United States.
Trump has previously demanded that Venezuela and its interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, effectively grant the United States and American oil companies full access to the country's huge and lucrative oil industry.
If it fails to do so, Trump has indicated that Venezuela may face further US military intervention.
Trump wrote in a social media post that Venezuela would deliver 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to Washington. Millions of barrels of oil have been prevented from leaving Venezuela since Trump imposed a blockade on the Latin American country in December.
