European Stocks Edge Lower After Hawkish BoE Minutes

(RTTNews) - European stocks turned lower on Wednesday, after minutes from the latest Bank of England policy-setting meeting showed two members were in favor of hiking interest rates.

Markets were in a cautious mood for most the session, as the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index snapped a five-day winning streak as the pound improved from multi-month lows against the U.S. dollar.

Downbeat earnings from U.S. retail giant Target also prompted traders to take profits after strong gains earlier in the week.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks lost 0.3 percent, but is up 0.84 percent compared to a week ago.

The German DAX dropped 0.21 percent and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.32 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 eased 0.35 percent.

Meanwhile, Siemens and E.ON are up moderately, after receiving broker upgrades.

Glencore, which turned to a profit, rose 0.8 percent.

Balfour Beatty lost 6.7 percent after again rejecting Carillon's proposal. Carillion lost 2 percent.

Vestas Wind Systems was down 1.6 percent in Copenhagen, reversing the gains made earlier on the day. The company reported a profit for the second quarter and boosted its earnings forecast for the year.

Carlsberg, which cut annual profit forecast, slipped 2.5 percent.

Heineken added 8 percent. The brewer said first-half adjusted profit increased and organic revenue grew with volume increase.

Antofagasta was flat after the miner's executive chairman, Jean-Paul Luksic, decided to become nonexecutive chairman from Sept. 1.

BHP Billiton rose 0.7 percent after Credit Suisse cut the miner to underperform from neutral.