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Forex Pros – European stock markets declined on Wednesday, after the Greek government survived a vote of confidence on Tuesday, but investors remained wary as planned austerity measures still have to pass parliament.<br /><br />During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 shed 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.35%, while Germany's DAX 30 edged 0.1% lower. <br /><br />Greece’s parliament supported Prime Minister George Papandreou’s new cabinet on Tuesday, wining the support of 155 out of 300 parliament members. <br /><br />However, markets remained cautious as Greek lawmakers still need to support next week’s vote on new austerity measures, which include harsh spending cuts and new taxes over the next five years. <br /><br />Meanwhile, shares in consumer electronics giant Philips Electronics plunged 11.2% after issuing a profit warning, citing weaker-than-expected demand in its lighting and consumer lifestyle units in Western Europe. The stock is down nearly 31% on the year thus far.<br /><br />Meanwhile, shares in Swedish-based clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz slumped 1.9% after reporting an 18% decline in second quarter profit, as a stronger Swedish krona and higher sourcing costs weighed on results.<br /><br />In London, the FTSE 100 shed 0.25% as shares in lenders performed poorly after HSBC downgraded the sector. <br /><br />In a report published earlier, HSBC downgraded Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight’, saying proposed regulatory reforms from the Independent Commission on Banking could cost the three lenders up to GBP10 billion. <br /><br />On the upside, shares of asset manager Schroders jumped 1.6%, while Henderson Group rose 1.75% after each stock was upgraded to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at Citigroup. <br /><br />The outlook for U.S. equity markets was downbeat as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy setting meeting, which was to conclude later in the day. <br /><br />The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a decline of 0.15%, S&P 500 futures shed 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.25%. <br /><br />In addition to the Fed’s rate statement, the U.S. was also to publish industry data on home prices, as well as a report on crude oil inventories. <br /><br />
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