Investing.com - European stock markets slipped during morning trade on Tuesday after a closely watched index showed that confidence among German companies fell unexpectedly in February.
During European morning trade, Germany's DAX was down 0.68%; the EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.58%; France's CAC 40 was down 0.42%; and Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.04%
Earlier Tuesday, the Ifo Institute said its German business climate index fell to 95.2 in February from 95.8 in January. Economists had expected a rise to 96.3.
But the index measuring firms' business expectations over the next six months improved slightly to 100.9 from 100.6.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. markets was also gloomy: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a fall of 0.13%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a decrease of 0.12% and Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a fall of 0.14%.
Also Tuesday, the British Bankers' Association said that the number of home purchase loans approved by banks in Britain fell unexpectedly on a monthly basis in January, although the figure was almost 40% up from a year ago.
The association said 35,083 mortgage applications were approved during the month, down from the 45,650 loans approved in December. Analysts had forecast the figure to drop only to 45,300.