Anisha Sicar and Ambar Warrenrick

(Reuters) -European stock markets fell from close to record heights Wednesday. Miners led losses following concerns about China’s impact on metal prices. Investors were also concerned by mixed earnings reports of corporations and a upcoming central banking meeting.

After closing 0.4% lower at 474.04 point on Tuesday, the pan-European was close to its record high.

The Miners suffered losses of 1.9% due to Chinese intervention in response to skyrocketing commodity rates. [IRONORE/] [MET/L]

Also, a mixed group of earnings was weighed. Deutsche Bank (DE): Down 6.9% despite reporting a higher-than-expected quarterly loss, investors questioning the bank’s reliance upon volatile money spinners.

French payments company Worldline fell 15.9% to the bottom STOXX 600 due to disappointing guidance and results.

British bluechip stock prices fell 0.3% while local-focused midcap stocks rose after government optimism. ()

Traders will now be focusing on the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Thursday meeting, when policymakers will keep the interest rate at their current level and revise market inflation forecasts.

Roland Kaloyan (head of European equity strategy, SocGen) stated, “After such high indices levels, I don’t think it is surprising that there has been a bit of a breather today in the lead up to the ECB meeting.”

While the ECB remains accommodative, the market can misunderstand or interpret any message or word.

Inflation expectations rising are expected to pressure the central bank when it decides how much support the eurozone economy will need after the end of its pandemic bond-buying next March.

Despite the uncertainty, the STOXX 600 is on track to gain more than 4% in October, as stronger-than-expected quarterly results countered concerns about inflation and a global energy crunch.

According to Refinitiv I/B/E/S, profits for Europe Inc should rise 52% from the second quarter of last year to 99.8 Billion Euros ($115.8 Billion). This improvement is compared with last week’s 47.6% growth.

The top gainer of the day was SEB in France, which rose 12.4% after reporting better-than expected third quarter results.

Schneider Electric, a maker of electrical equipment (PA:), saw 2.4% growth after reporting greater-than-expected quarterly revenues.

Puma, Germany added 3.6% to its 2020 sales forecast after increasing its outlook for 2021 even though it warned that Vietnam’s lockdown and port congestion were threatening its supply chain.