European stocks fell during trading on Wednesday, as positive market momentum slowed.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.17% to 572.30 points, while the German DAX index fell 0.1% to 24,300.94 points, while the French CAC 40 index lost about 0.5% to settle at 8,217.24 points.
The British FTSE index was the only exception, rising 0.6% to 9,487.10 points.
UK inflation data released today revealed that the inflation rate remained stable at 3.8% in September, contrary to expectations of a slight increase.
European stocks ended Tuesday's session higher, but the positive momentum appears to have faded as investors assess the prospects for a peace agreement in Ukraine, which remain slim at present.
US President Donald Trump was scheduled to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Hungary in the coming weeks to discuss ways to end the war, but those talks have been put on hold, according to a US official quoted by NBC News on Tuesday.
According to reports, the decision came after a phone call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. Trump had previously expressed ambivalent views on Ukraine, hinting last week that Kyiv should be prepared to make territorial concessions to Moscow.
Italian bank UniCredit reported quarterly profits that beat expectations on Wednesday, describing the three months ending in September as a record quarter. Net profit reached €2.6 billion ($3.02 billion), exceeding the average forecast of €2.4 billion compiled by the bank itself.
The bank's CEO, Andreas Ursel, told CNBC on Wednesday that the relationship with Germany's Commerzbank, in which UniCredit increased its stake to 26% over the past year, is ongoing. I have not abandoned Commerzbank, he added. As investors, we are monitoring how much additional value they can generate.
Orsel had previously sought a complete takeover of the German bank, but faced repeated opposition from the bank's management and the government in Berlin.
Orsel also indicated that UniCredit intends to raise its stake in Greek Alpha Bank to approximately 30%.
Other European companies and banks are scheduled to announce their results soon, including Barclays, Reckitt Benckiser, Heineken, DNB Bank, Sweden's Handelsbanken, and Aker, while SAP is expected to release its results later this evening.
