Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Monday, as investors redirected their attention to discussions on the Greek bailout agreement ahead of a Eurogroup meeting scheduled later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.63%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.79%, while Germany’s DAX 30 retreated 0.53%.
The euro group of finance ministers was to hold talks in Brussels later in the day to discuss proposed Greek economic reforms.
Last month Athens reached a temporary agreement with its lenders to extend its bailout by four months, but must complete a bailout review before it can access further financial aid.
Earlier Monday, official data showed that Germany's trade surplus narrowed to €19.7 billion in January from €21.6 billion in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated surplus of €21.8 billion. Analysts had expected the trade surplus to narrow to €21.0 billion in January.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) slid 0.33% and 0.54%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) declined 0.59%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) retreated 0.59%, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) lost 0.30% and 0.96% respectively.
Elsewhere, Gazprom Oao (MCX:GAZP) tumbled 1.73% amid reports the Russian gas exporter is paying Italy’s biggest oil and gas contractor, Saipem SpA, the costs of two pipe-laying ships hired to build the South Stream project.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced three months ago that Gazprom would drop the $45 billion Black Sea gas pipeline.
In London, FTSE 100 dropped 0.62%, weighed by WPP Plc (LONDON:WPP), whose shares slid 0.65% even as the advertising company reported full-year revenue above analysts' estimates.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) slipped 0.23% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) declined 0.51%, while rivals Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) rallied 1.34% and 1.52% respectively.
Financial stocks were also mixed, as Barclays (LONDON:BARC) shed 0.32% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) dropped 0.85%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) inched up 0.01% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) rose 0.32%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.17% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.15% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% loss.