Investing.com - European stock markets remained lower for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, amid ongoing concerns over the impact of a potential Greek default on global economic growth.
During late European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 2.14%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 2.56%, while Germany’s DAX 30 posted a 2.39% decline.
Earlier in the day, concerns over a default by Greece mounted after a decision on the country’s next tranche of aid was delayed until mid-November, while euro zone finance ministers examined ways to make banks take bigger losses on their holdings of Greek debt.
Greece's finance minister Evangelos Venizelos said the country had enough cash to continue operating until the middle of November and insisted that European ministers were not preparing for a Greek default, despite speculation otherwise.
Belgian lender Dexia tumbled the most in two-and-a-half years, with shares plummeting 21% after the bank's board asked Chief Executive Officer Pierre Mariani to take steps to fix the company’s "structural problems," due to high exposure to Greek debt.
France's BNP Paribas and Societe Generale were also sharply lower, with shares plummeting 4.68% and 3.75% respectively, while Germany's Deutsche Bank fell 1.37% after cutting its 2011 earnings outlook and announcing plans to eliminate 500 jobs.
Automakers contributed to losses, with shares in Volkswagen dropping 3.42% and Renault sinking 7.10%, while Daimler shares plummeted 5.08%.
Meanwhile, AirFrance-KLM saw shares plunge 8.58% to a twenty-year low, after the head of the International Air Transport Association said profit projections may be unstable.
In London, the FTSE 100 shed 2.85% as U.K. lenders tracked losses posted by their European counterparts.
Barclays saw shares sink 6.13% and Lloyds Banking tumbled 4.26%, while shares in Royal Bank of Scotland posted a 3.29% drop.
Shares in commodity-linked firms remained lower, as mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton fell 2.93% and 1.52% respectively, while oil and gas John Wood Group plunged 6.49%.
Copper producers Kazakhmys and Xsatra were also hit, with shares declining 3.08% and 3.00%, tracking the 1.92% fall in copper prices.
Elsewhere, U.S. equity markets were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.84%, S&P 500 futures signaled a fall of 0.03%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 1.00% increase.
Also Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank was ready to do more to help the U.S. economic recovery.
In testimony to Congress’s Joint Economic Committee in Washington, Bernanke said that the U.S. economic recovery has been far less robust that the Fed had hoped and added that the labor market is likely to remain sluggish for some time to come.
During late European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 2.14%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 2.56%, while Germany’s DAX 30 posted a 2.39% decline.
Earlier in the day, concerns over a default by Greece mounted after a decision on the country’s next tranche of aid was delayed until mid-November, while euro zone finance ministers examined ways to make banks take bigger losses on their holdings of Greek debt.
Greece's finance minister Evangelos Venizelos said the country had enough cash to continue operating until the middle of November and insisted that European ministers were not preparing for a Greek default, despite speculation otherwise.
Belgian lender Dexia tumbled the most in two-and-a-half years, with shares plummeting 21% after the bank's board asked Chief Executive Officer Pierre Mariani to take steps to fix the company’s "structural problems," due to high exposure to Greek debt.
France's BNP Paribas and Societe Generale were also sharply lower, with shares plummeting 4.68% and 3.75% respectively, while Germany's Deutsche Bank fell 1.37% after cutting its 2011 earnings outlook and announcing plans to eliminate 500 jobs.
Automakers contributed to losses, with shares in Volkswagen dropping 3.42% and Renault sinking 7.10%, while Daimler shares plummeted 5.08%.
Meanwhile, AirFrance-KLM saw shares plunge 8.58% to a twenty-year low, after the head of the International Air Transport Association said profit projections may be unstable.
In London, the FTSE 100 shed 2.85% as U.K. lenders tracked losses posted by their European counterparts.
Barclays saw shares sink 6.13% and Lloyds Banking tumbled 4.26%, while shares in Royal Bank of Scotland posted a 3.29% drop.
Shares in commodity-linked firms remained lower, as mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton fell 2.93% and 1.52% respectively, while oil and gas John Wood Group plunged 6.49%.
Copper producers Kazakhmys and Xsatra were also hit, with shares declining 3.08% and 3.00%, tracking the 1.92% fall in copper prices.
Elsewhere, U.S. equity markets were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.84%, S&P 500 futures signaled a fall of 0.03%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 1.00% increase.
Also Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank was ready to do more to help the U.S. economic recovery.
In testimony to Congress’s Joint Economic Committee in Washington, Bernanke said that the U.S. economic recovery has been far less robust that the Fed had hoped and added that the labor market is likely to remain sluggish for some time to come.