Europe close: Stocks down despite jump in oil futures

European stocks fell into the red as investors digested a batch of disappointing corporate news, weak readings on US durable goods and Eurozone economic confidence and a Federal Reserve statement that left the door open to a rate hike in March.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index finished lower by 1.57%, France’s CAC 40 was down 1.33% and Germany’s DAX was 2.44% weaker.

Stocks on Wall Street ended a choppy session in the red on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve stood pat on interest rates, as widely expected, noting the recent turmoil in financial markets and saying it would be “closely monitoring” global economic and financial developments.

The Fed removed from its statement a previous reference to the risks of the economic outlook being balanced and that it was “reasonably confident” about the 2% medium-term inflation target.

Other than that, however, the US central bank seemed committed to its plan of gradual interest rate hikes "as long as job growth stays strong".

The committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant only gradual increases in the federal funds rate,” it said.

“The Fed statement acknowledged the obvious downside risks to growth and the turmoil in asset markets, but the nuances did not go as far as to alter perceptions of the course of interest rates this year,” Societe Generale said.

Orders for durable goods in the US fell by a much sharper than expected 5.1% month-on-month in December (consensus: -0.7%), leading Barclays to trim its estimate for the rate of growth in fourth quarter gross domestic product from 0.5% to 0.4%.

In corporate news, Deutsche Bank slipped after posting its first annual loss since 2008, in line with its statement last week.

Hennes & Mauritz was under pressure after the retailer’s fourth quarter earnings missed analysts’ expectations.

In London, drinks giant Diageo lost ground after its interim results. The company reported a slight rise in first half pre-tax profit despite a drop in revenue, as organic sales grew more than expected.

Pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca was a touch weaker despite announcing that one of its cancer therapies reached a new milestone.

Meanwhile, Swiss drug maker Roche was under the cosh after its full year earnings fell short of estimates.

Anglo American bucked the trend, however, surging to the top of the FTSE 100 after a well-received fourth quarter production report.

Oil prices pushed higher after Interfax reported Russian energy minister Alexander Novak was open to the possibility of coordinating output cuts.

Later in the day, four OPEC delegates poured cold water on those prospects, telling Bloomberg they had not heard of any plans for a meeting.

Nevertheless, by the close of trading in London front month Brent crude oil futures were up by 3.02% at $34.13 per barrel, having hit an intraday high above $35.50 earlier in the session.

Data released on Thursday morning showed consumer confidence in the Eurozone fell more than expected in January.

The European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator slipped to 105 from 106.7 in December, falling short of economists’ expectations for a reading of 106.4.

Confidence was on the slide in all sectors apart from retail, where it remained steady.

Pantheon Macroeconomics said the headline figure was “ugly” but should rebound next month.