European stocks open mixed as investors weigh corporate earnings

European markets opened mixed on Wednesday, as investors weighed a number of corporate earnings alongside stronger-than-expected UK inflation data. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.06% in early trade, after hitting a record close on Tuesday, while sectors and bourses were mixed.

According to CNBC, Germany’s DAX rose 0.29% to 22,906.94 points, while the UK’s FTSE 100 fell 0.23% to 8,746.42 points. France’s CAC 40 fell 0.07% to 8,201.10 points. Shares in Dutch healthcare technology group Philips fell 8% at the open after its fourth-quarter sales missed expectations, hurt by a double-digit decline in the Chinese market. Earnings are due on Wednesday from BAE Systems, Glencore, Rio Tinto, Koninklijke Philips and Carrefour. Earlier in the day, HSBC, Europe’s largest lender, reported full-year pretax profit of $32.31 billion, narrowly beating analysts’ expectations, as the bank’s net interest income fell by $3.1 billion from a year earlier.