Europe close: Shares end on mixed note, traders undecided

European stocks finished on a mixed note as markets took a breather, mimicking the price action over in the States.

Nonetheless, policy uncertainty around Donald Trump’s future plans after being elected as President on Wednesday continued to hang over the market.

Europe's benchmark Stoxx 60 skidded 0.41%, the German DAX index rose 0.36%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.92%, Italy's FTSE MIB edged up by 0.04% and Spain's IBEX 35 declined 1.34%.

Oil prices slipped lower, with West Texas Intermediate down 2.7% at $43.48 and Brent falling 2.7% to trade at $44.65. Euro/dollar lost 0.36% to 1.0846.

“The market, by which we mean the aggregation of investors across the globe, is still struggling to work out what is going to happen in the coming months and years. The initial bounce was driven by a realisation that Trump’s infrastructure stimulus would indeed come to pass, but since then investors have been scrambling to work out all the other implications, and this will take far longer,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

“Equity markets are voting risk-off into the weekend, perhaps worried about what a two-day break could deliver in terms of news about Trump's team and his plans once in office. A correction from post-election highs is, however, no surprise. We rallied for six days after Brexit before pausing for breath. And that precedent means everything happening much quicker this time,” chimed in Head of Research at Accendo Markets Mike Van Dulken.

In corporate news, Allianz rallied after the insurer’s third-quarter net income surpassed analysts’ expectations, while Altice pushed higher after reporting an improvement in third-quarter earnings.

Global mobile satellite communications provider Inmarsat gained ground after announcing that it will provide its new ‘GX for Aviation’ in-flight broadband solution to Austrian Airlines' continental aircraft fleet under a “landmark” new contract.

Stock in Shell fell back following a report that it plans to continue investing heavily in Brazil over the next five years, with the aim of doubling its deep-water production by the early 2020's.

On the macroeconomic front, data from Destatis confirmed German inflation was at a two-year high in October.

Consumer prices last month rose 0.2% from September and 0.8% from October last year, which is its highest level since October 2014. Meanwhile, the annual rate of inflation came in at 0.7%. This was in line with consensus and the original estimate.

Energy prices fell 1.4% from October 2015, while food prices were unchanged.

In the European Union, consumer prices were up 0.2% on the month and 0.7% compared to October 2015.