European stocks close: stocks traded mixed ahead of the latest Fed’s minutes

Stock closed mixed ahead of the release of the latest Fed's minutes later in the day. Market participants will closely analyse the minutes for hints for further interest rate hikes.

Market participants eyed the trade data from the Eurozone. Eurostat released its final consumer price inflation data for the Eurozone on Wednesday. Eurozone's harmonized consumer price index was flat in April, in line with expectations, after a 1.2% increase in March.

On a yearly basis, Eurozone's final consumer price inflation decreased to -0.2% in April from 0.0% in March, in line with the preliminary reading.

Eurozone's final consumer price inflation excluding food, energy, alcohol and tobacco fell to an annual rate of 0.7% in April from 1.0 in March, in line with the preliminary reading.

The European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Vitas Vasiliauskas said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that the central bank should wait at least until autumn before considering new stimulus measures.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its labour market data on Wednesday. The U.K. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.1% in the January to March quarter, in line with expectations.

The claimant count fell by 2,400 people in April, beating expectations for a rise by 4,300, after an increase of 14,300 people in March. March's figure was revised up from a 6,700 increase.

Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, climbed by 2.1% in the January to March quarter, missing expectations for a 2.3% rise, after a 2.2% gain in the December to February quarter.

Average weekly earnings, including bonuses, rose by 2.0% in the January to March quarter, exceeding expectations for a 1.7% gain, after a 1.9% increase in the December to February quarter. The previous quarter's figure was revised up from a 1.7% rise.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,165.8 -1.97 -0.03 %

DAX 9,943.23 +53.04 +0.54 %

CAC 40 4,319.3 +21.73 +0.51 %