European Markets Mixed As Stimulus Hopes Persist

European markets were mixed Thursday as investors continued to be cautious, expecting policy makers to announce monetary easing measures that will strengthen the euro zone economy and revive growth momentum.

The French CAC 40 index fell 0.12 percent or 4.07 points to 3445.13. Shares of Vivendi SA dropped 0.13 percent and shares of France Telecom SA declined 0.40 percent.

London’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.15 percent or 8.87 points to 5841.91. Shares of Fresnillo PLC rose 1.28 percent and shares of IMI PLC were up 0.90 percent.

The German DAX 30 index marginally declined 0.03 percent or 1.79 points to 6945.01. Shares of Deutsche Bank AG dropped 0.24 percent and shares of Daimler AG fell 0.25 percent.

Spain's IBEX 35 was up 0.15 percent or 10.90 points to 7139.80. Shares of Bankia SA rose 4.99 percent and shares of Acciona SA advanced 1.68 percent.

The ECB President Mario Draghi’s pledge last month to "do whatever it takes" to save the euro has yet to be translated into action. Investors feel that bold measures from the ECB, including easing in the monetary policy, are urgently needed to boost liquidity in the global financial system. A re-launch of the ECB’s bond-buying programme is the absolute minimum to be expected.

The bigger worry, though, is that these actions will simply not be anywhere near substantial enough to prevent the crisis from continuing to deepen. The economies of Italy and Spain have already contracted, by 0.7 percent and 0.4 percent respectively, while Portugal shrank by 1.2 percent and Greece by 6.2 percent in the second quarter as compared to same period last year.

Also market participants do feel the European Financial Stability Facility’s (EFSF) current remaining capacity of about 220 billion euros ($275 billion) is probably not enough to guarantee sustained low borrowing costs for Spain and Italy. Market players sense that the policy makers in the euro zone will need to urgently follow their words with action.