European stocks mainly flat on eve of ECB

Europe's stock markets were mainly flat Wednesday following a downbeat session in Asia, as investors examined weak data on the eve of the European Central Bank's interest rate gathering.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies slipped 0.01 percent to 6,888.11 points in mid-afternoon trading.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 inched up 0.12 percent to 11,293.67 points, while the CAC 40 index in Paris was up 0.09 percent to 4,873.83 from Tuesday's close.

European indices had fallen on Tuesday after recent strong gains, with traders sitting tight as the eurozone awaits new central bank stimulus.

On Thursday, the ECB will unveil details of the bond purchase programme it is embarking on later this month.

"Things went from bad to worse for the European markets as disappointing economic data gave investors another reason to abandon the FTSE and eurozone indices," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

"Bar slight growth by Germany and France, the services PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) data from the eurozone as a whole was weak, slipping from last month?s figure."

On Wall Street US stocks opened lower for a second day after the run that saw new Dow and S&P records, and a 15-year high for the Nasdaq on Monday.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.39 percent, to 18,131.74 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.42 percent to 2,098.89, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.36 percent to 4,961.77.

Dull data on hiring and auto sales in February -- though severe weather could have contributed -- underscored the feeling of caution in the market going forward, analysts said.

Meanwhile, in foreign exchange deals, the euro hit a five-week low of $1.1104, compared with $1.1178 late in New York.

"The euro/dollar is on the verge of taking another leg lower, a day before the ECB meeting," added Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

"Although not much will be expected from this particular meeting, the focus will be on how the ECB will achieve the 60-billion-euro a month of the QE stimulus programme it is planning to launch this month. "

Asia stock markets mostly fell Wednesday after a retreat on Wall Street that was fuelled by profit-taking.

Japanese equities were also hit by a stronger yen, which hurts exporters, while Sydney dipped as data showed Australia's economy grew more slowly than expected last year.

Tokyo lost 0.59 percent, Sydney fell 0.54 percent and Seoul lost 0.15 percent.

Hong Kong meanwhile fell 0.96 percent but Shanghai rose 0.51 percent in value.