Investing.com - European stocks declined on Tuesday, amid lowered expectations for imminent action by the European Central Bank to stem the debt crisis in the euro zone and sustained global growth concerns.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.40%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.51%, while Germany’s DAX 30 retreated 0.40%.
The ECB is expected to announce policy measures to help stabilize the euro zone's sovereign debt markets at its next policy meeting on September 6, but is not expected to begin implementing the measures until at least late September.
Stocks also weakened after the Japanese government cut its view of the economy for the first time in 10 months, as slowing exports weighed on production and consumer spending failed to expand.
Meanwhile, market participants were looking ahead to a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at an annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, amid ongoing speculation over how close the U.S. central bank is to implementing more stimulus measures.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, led by German lender Deutsche Bank, down 1.15%, while France’s BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 0.63% and 0.24% respectively.
Credit Agricole said earlier that it posted a 67% decline in second-quarter profit, hurt by losses in Greece and a writedown of its stake in Italy’s Intesa Sanpaol.
Spanish banks also added to losses, with shares in Banco Santander and BBVA retreating 0.45% and 0.31%.
Meanwhile, Italian lenders outperformed their counterparts, with Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo rising 0.77% and 0.33% respectively as Italian markets reopened following a bank holiday on Monday.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.20%, weighed by sharp losses in mining stocks.
Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton saw shares tumble 1.84% and 1.02% respectively, while Antofagasta plummeted 2.42%.
Copper producers also contributed to losses, as shares in Xstrata and Kazakhmys declined 1.35% and 1.97%.
Elsewhere, London-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca fell 0.25%, amid reports the company named Pascal Soriot, Roche Holding’s head of pharmaceuticals, as chief executive officer to revive sales and product development.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. Shares in Lloyds Banking dropped 0.71% and the Royal Bank of Scotland declined 0.31%, while HSBC Holdings and Barclays rose 0.21% and 0.55%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.03% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.06% increase.
Also Tuesday, data showed that an index of German consumer climate remained unchanged at 5.9 in August, compared to expectations for a decline to 5.8.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on consumer confidence, a leading indicator of economic health, as well as industry data on house price inflation.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.40%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.51%, while Germany’s DAX 30 retreated 0.40%.
The ECB is expected to announce policy measures to help stabilize the euro zone's sovereign debt markets at its next policy meeting on September 6, but is not expected to begin implementing the measures until at least late September.
Stocks also weakened after the Japanese government cut its view of the economy for the first time in 10 months, as slowing exports weighed on production and consumer spending failed to expand.
Meanwhile, market participants were looking ahead to a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at an annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, amid ongoing speculation over how close the U.S. central bank is to implementing more stimulus measures.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, led by German lender Deutsche Bank, down 1.15%, while France’s BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 0.63% and 0.24% respectively.
Credit Agricole said earlier that it posted a 67% decline in second-quarter profit, hurt by losses in Greece and a writedown of its stake in Italy’s Intesa Sanpaol.
Spanish banks also added to losses, with shares in Banco Santander and BBVA retreating 0.45% and 0.31%.
Meanwhile, Italian lenders outperformed their counterparts, with Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo rising 0.77% and 0.33% respectively as Italian markets reopened following a bank holiday on Monday.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.20%, weighed by sharp losses in mining stocks.
Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton saw shares tumble 1.84% and 1.02% respectively, while Antofagasta plummeted 2.42%.
Copper producers also contributed to losses, as shares in Xstrata and Kazakhmys declined 1.35% and 1.97%.
Elsewhere, London-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca fell 0.25%, amid reports the company named Pascal Soriot, Roche Holding’s head of pharmaceuticals, as chief executive officer to revive sales and product development.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. Shares in Lloyds Banking dropped 0.71% and the Royal Bank of Scotland declined 0.31%, while HSBC Holdings and Barclays rose 0.21% and 0.55%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.03% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.06% increase.
Also Tuesday, data showed that an index of German consumer climate remained unchanged at 5.9 in August, compared to expectations for a decline to 5.8.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on consumer confidence, a leading indicator of economic health, as well as industry data on house price inflation.