European stock markets were slightly higher during Wednesday morning trade, as investors monitored the latest batch of earnings and economic data releases. The pan-European Stoxx 600 inched up 0.1 percent shortly after the opening bell, with almost all sectors and major bourses in positive territory. Europe's autos and technology stocks were the best performers in early morning deals, up around 0.3 percent on earnings news. Looking at individual stocks, Dutch chemicals group Akzo Nobel posted its third-quarter results Wednesday, with the company anticipating positive developments for the EMEA region (except for the U.K.) and North America going forward; however added that "headwinds" are expected to continue. Its shares were down almost 2 percent in early morning trade. Germany's Zalando published its latest trading update on Wednesday, saying it would enter the beauty market in 2018 as the posted strong growth in its most recent quarter. Its shares were 2 percent lower on the news. Elsewhere in individual stock news, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Australian-British miner Rio Tinto and two of its former top executives with fraud on Tuesday. The SEC stated that the execs had inflated the value of coal assets in Mozambique, which was acquired for $3.7 billion and sold years later for $50 million, according to Reuters. Its shares were little changed shortly after the opening bell. Meanwhile, a company spokesman at British supermarket group Sainsbury's confirmed to media outlets on Tuesday that the retailer was looking to cut up to 2,000 jobs. Its shares were down 1.5 percent. Catalonia, Brexit Politics will continue to rumble on in the background on Wednesday, with investors waiting for the latest news surrounding Brexit and Catalonia. Spanish stocks will be closely watched as news emerged Tuesday that Catalonia refused to give in to the Spanish government's demand of renouncing its independence. Meanwhile, Brexit continues to be up for discussion, with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May expected to speak with fellow leaders of the European Union on Thursday. Earlier this week, both May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called for the pace of Brexit negotiations to be accelerated. Overseas, the Communist Party's once-every-five-year Party Congress kicked off on Wednesday, with President Xi Jinping commenting on a range of topics during his speech including corruption, the benefits of socialism, and why the "One China" principle should be maintained. Elsewhere, a number of European Central Bank members are expected to deliver remarks in different countries Wednesday, including President Mario Draghi and Benoît Cœuré, member of the ECB's executive board. In data news, unemployment figures for the U.K. are due out in morning trade, along with construction output for the euro zone. Source: CNBC
