European stocks fall slightly on mixed global sentiment

European stocks slightly down on Wednesday, tracking mixed sentiment in their U.S. and Asia-Pacific counterparts.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.2 percent by around noon, autos shedding 1.1 percent to lead losses while utilities bucked the downward trend to climb 0.7 percent.

The U.K. on Wednesday became the first country in the world to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, making it available from next week.

The move lower among European stocks comes after U.S. stock futures fell Wednesday morning, despite recent strength that has brought the major averages to record highs.

The major averages had popped on Tuesday, the first day of December, adding to their sharp gains from the previous month.