European stocks turn mostly higher, focus on Bernanke; Dax dips 0.04%

European stocks turned mostly higher in choppy trade on Thursday, as market focus remained on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke following his highly anticipated comments on Wednesday.

During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.13%, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.19%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dipped 0.04%. 

In his semi-annual testimony before the Financial Services Committee in Congress Bernanke said the central bank expects to start tapering bond purchases by the end of the year, but added that there was no “preset course.”

Bernanke said the bank’s bond purchase program could be tapered at a faster pace, slower pace or even temporarily increased depending on economic and financial developments.

Bernanke said the economic recovery was continuing at a moderate pace but reiterated that monetary policy will remain accommodative for the foreseeable future. 

Financial stocks remained broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale climbed 0.68% and 1.29%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank advanced 0.41%. 

Peripheral lenders added to gains, with Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA rising 0.22% and 1.11% respectively, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo rallied 0.94% and 1.34%. 

Among earnings, Publicis surged 4.11% after saying first-half net income rose 15% to EUR314 million. Revenue increased 8.7% to EUR3.35 billion, topping analysts’ estimates. 

On the downside, Ericsson tumbled 3.77% after reporting revenue that missed estimates, due to higher competition with Huawei Technologies for contracts to build and service phone systems. 

In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.34%, after official data showed that U.K. retail sales rose in line with expectations in June and were 2.2% higher compared to the same month last year. 

Financial stocks turned broadly higher, as shares in HSBC Holdings added 0.31% and Lloyds Banking gained 0.72%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays advanced 0.47% and 1.01%. 

Meanwhile, mining stocks remained broadly lower, tracking the downtrend in commodity prices. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto slid 0.19% and 0.73% respectively, while Polymetal and Fresnillo plummeted 1.46% and 2.50%. 

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.03% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.09% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.07% loss. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims and data on the Philly Fed manufacturing index.