Investing.com - European stocks declined on Tuesday, as market sentiment weakened broadly after Moody's lowered its credit ratings on five Spanish regions.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slid 0.70%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.60%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.85%.
Market sentiment weakened after ratings agency Moody’s cut the credit ratings of Catalonia and four other Spanish regions late Monday, citing their worsening liquidity positions and predicting that these regions are likely to ask the central government for aid in 2013.
The downgrade comes on the heels of regional elections in Spain. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s center-right Popular Party increased its majority in his home region of Galicia on Sunday, removing a possible obstacle to formally requesting financial aid from Spain’s euro zone partners.
Rajoy said last week he still had not decided whether to request a sovereign bailout.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 0.42% and 0.65%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank retreated 0.81% and 1.22% respectively.
Reuters reported earlier that Commerzbank is looking to sell off its custodian business that protects its clients' financial assets and that it has asked UBS to help it sell the custody business.
Peripheral lenders added to losses, with Italian banks Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo declined 0.71% and 0.76%, while Spain's BBVA and Banco Santander slumped 1.25% and 0.52%.
On the upside, Swiss group Syngenta jumped 1.16% after it released third quarter results confirming its full-year targets and reporting sales in line with forecasts.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.64%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower, while data showed that mortgage approvals in the U.K. rose more-than-expected in September.
Shares in HSBC Holdings slid 0.36% and Barclays dropped 0.99%, while Lloyds Banking and the Royal Bank of Scotland plunged 2.01% and 2.26% respectively.
Mining giant Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton were also on the downside, with shares tumbling 1.82% and 1.80% respectively, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys retreated 1.61% and 3.64%.
Elsewhere, Mulberry saw shares dive 28.79% after the luxury brand issued a profit warning, blaming sales and wholesale revenue.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.54% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.67% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.66% drop.
Trading volumes were expected to remain light on Tuesday, as no major economic indicators were to be released from the euro zone or the U.S.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slid 0.70%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.60%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.85%.
Market sentiment weakened after ratings agency Moody’s cut the credit ratings of Catalonia and four other Spanish regions late Monday, citing their worsening liquidity positions and predicting that these regions are likely to ask the central government for aid in 2013.
The downgrade comes on the heels of regional elections in Spain. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s center-right Popular Party increased its majority in his home region of Galicia on Sunday, removing a possible obstacle to formally requesting financial aid from Spain’s euro zone partners.
Rajoy said last week he still had not decided whether to request a sovereign bailout.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 0.42% and 0.65%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank retreated 0.81% and 1.22% respectively.
Reuters reported earlier that Commerzbank is looking to sell off its custodian business that protects its clients' financial assets and that it has asked UBS to help it sell the custody business.
Peripheral lenders added to losses, with Italian banks Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo declined 0.71% and 0.76%, while Spain's BBVA and Banco Santander slumped 1.25% and 0.52%.
On the upside, Swiss group Syngenta jumped 1.16% after it released third quarter results confirming its full-year targets and reporting sales in line with forecasts.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.64%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower, while data showed that mortgage approvals in the U.K. rose more-than-expected in September.
Shares in HSBC Holdings slid 0.36% and Barclays dropped 0.99%, while Lloyds Banking and the Royal Bank of Scotland plunged 2.01% and 2.26% respectively.
Mining giant Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton were also on the downside, with shares tumbling 1.82% and 1.80% respectively, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys retreated 1.61% and 3.64%.
Elsewhere, Mulberry saw shares dive 28.79% after the luxury brand issued a profit warning, blaming sales and wholesale revenue.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.54% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.67% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.66% drop.
Trading volumes were expected to remain light on Tuesday, as no major economic indicators were to be released from the euro zone or the U.S.