European stocks fall ahead of ECB decisions

European stocks fell on Thursday, to head for the second loss in 3 sessions, led by the mining sector's losses, as investors anticipate ahead of the European Central Bank's meeting and decisions.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.3% as of 11:05 GMT, after it gained 1.6% yesterday, on the telecom and insurance sectors' strong gains, and the tech sector's recovery.

The index fell today, to head for its second loss in 3 sessions, with most of the major European markets and sectors seeing red.

The mining and basic materials sector saw the largest losses in Europe today, dropping more than 1%, as most global commodity prices fell.

At 11:45 GMT, the European Central Bank will announce its rate decision, and Chairwoman Christine Lagarde will deliver a speech at 12:30 GMT, amid expectations the recent euro's rally would impact economic growth and inflation in Europe.

S&P 500 futures fell more than 0.5%, after the index closed higher by 2% yesterday at Wall Street, led by the tech sector's recovery.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 0.3%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.4%, Germany's DAX fell 0.1%, and the UK's FTSE 100 lost 0.75%.