European stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday with losses from tech, consumer defensive companies, and miners as markets continued to assess the outlook on global rates and geopolitical risk. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 closed dropped 0.2% to 5,378 and the pan-European STOXX 600 inched below the flatline to 552. The ECB is expected to leave borrowing costs unchanged tomorrow, though updated economic forecasts and guidance on the policy outlook will be closely watched. Geopolitical risks also remained in focus: Israel carried out strikes on Hamas targets in Qatar, while Poland intercepted drones that entered its airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine. Tech stocks led the losses despite the positive guidance posted by Oracle in the US, with SAP and Adyen both dropping nearly 3%. In turn, Inditex jumped 6.5% after reporting strong sales on the month.