Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious amid ongoing global growth concerns and ahead of a highly anticipated report on German economic sentiment.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 retreated 0.53%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.56%, while Germany’s DAX slid 0.52%.
Global equities weakened after the International Monetary Fund cut its forecasts for global growth in 2014 and 2015 and warned that global growth may never reach its pre-crisis levels ever again.
Recent data from Germany indicating unexpected weakness in manufacturing and exports also added to concerns, as well as signs of uneven growth in China.
Markets were also jittery amid the widening Ebola epidemic. The U.K. announced on Monday that it will begin conducting fever tests for Ebola at Heathrow airport, after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says it is likely that tge virus will be diagnosed in the U.K. by end of year.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) inched up 0.01% and 0.04%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) slid 0.42%.
Among peripheral lenders, Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) fell 0.30% and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) gained 0.40% in Italy, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) declined 0.38% and 0.41% respectively.
Elsewhere, Iliad (PARIS:ILD) saw shares soar 12.10% after saying it abandoned a plan to buy a majority stake in T-Mobile US Inc (NYSE:TMUS) when an improved bid was rejected by the wireless carrier’s owner Deutsche Telekom (XETRA:DTEGn), down 0.38%.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.47%, weighed by losses in the financial sector.
Shares in Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) slid 0.37% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) dropped 0.55%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) retreated 0.54% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) lost 0.78%.
Adding to losses, Burberry Group (LONDON:BRBY) plunged 5.54% after the U.K.’s largest luxury-goods maker forecast downward pressure on profit margins.
Sabmiller (LONDON:SAB) was also on the downside, with shares sliding 0.40% after the brewing company posted first-half revenue growth below analysts' estimates.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly higher. Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) gained 0.54% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) saw shares advance 0.83%, while rivals Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) rallied 1.12% and 2.25% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.34% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.45% increase, while the NASDAQ 100 futures indicated a 0.44% gain.
Later in the day, the ZEW Institute was to release a closely watched report on German economic sentiment, while the euro zone was to produce data on industrial production.