European stocks end flat, Greece banks collapse

European markets ended mixed on Wednesday after seesawing for much of the session, with gains in the technology sector helping to offset a staggering slump in Greek banking stocks. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 (FTSE International: .FTSE) benchmark closed provisionally flat, with France’s CAC 40 (Euronext Paris: .FCHI) down 0.6 percent and Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) unofficially up 0.6 percent. Greece’s Athens Composite index closed more than 9 percent lower, with its four main banks-Bank of Piraeus, Alpha Bank, National Bank of Greece and Eurobank-all ending more than 25 percent lower. This follows the victory of the far-left Syriza party in Greece on Sunday, which has raised fears of a sovereign default that could hit Greek banks hard.

Read More Greek bank stocks, deposits hit by default fears Mining stocks (STOXX:.SXPP) outperformed on Wednesday, with Anglo American (London Stock Exchange: AAL-GB) closing up around 2.3 percent after it reported that it had met production targets for the last quarter.

However, Europe’s top-performing stock was Electrolux (Stockholmsborsen:ELUX.B-SE). Its shares hit a record high and closed around 12 percent higher after the home appliance maker posted a slightly-better-than-expected rise in core earnings for its fourth quarter. Another strong performer was Nordea , whose shares closed around 8.8 percent higher after the lender reported a profit rise and upped its dividend for the year.

Away from individual stock news, a forward-looking German consumer confidence survey hit a 13-year high for February, GfK reported on Wednesday morning. Follow us on Twitter: @CNBCWorld