European stock markets erased most of their early losses on Tuesday during afternoon trading, after plummeting amid fears over China’s clampdown on lending requirements.
France’s CAC 40 was down 0.27%; the EURO STOXX 50 was down 0.4%; Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.27%; and Germany's DAX was down 0.12%.
Earlier in the day, major financial news outlets quoted Chinese officials as saying China's central bank told some banks to increase their reserve ratios by 0.5%.
The outlook for U.S. markets, meanwhile, was quite dim. Dow Jones Industrial Average Index futures indicated a drop of 0.23%, S&P 500 Index futures pointed to a slide of 0.42% and Nasdaq 100 Index futures indicated a drop of 0.05%.
The relative strength of the Nasdaq 100 futures came in the wake of a better-than-expected earnings report posted on Monday by Apple Inc., the most influential component of the index. The technology giant’s stock rose in the pre-market by 2.3%.