Investing.com - European stocks declined on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of a euro zone finance ministers’ second day of talks in Brussels while sustained debt concerns and worries over the outlook for global economic growth continued to weigh.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.18%, France’s CAC 40 inched down 0.06%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.46%.
Market sentiment remained under pressure after a first day of talks between euro zone finance ministers on Monday offered few signs of progress in tackling the region’s debt crisis.
Euro zone ministers agreed to push Spain’s deadline to reach its deficit reduction targets back to 2014 in exchange for further budget savings and set the parameters of an aid package for Madrid's ailing banks.
They made no apparent progress, however, on activating the bloc's rescue funds to intervene in bond markets and bring down Spain and Italy’s spiraling borrowing costs.
Spain’s 10-year government bonds were hovering at 6.94% earlier Tuesday, while Italy’s 10-year bonds were at 6.05%, both above the 6% threshold which is widely seen as unsustainable.
Meanwhile, data showed that China's imports in June grew at half the expected pace, underscoring that the country’s economy and domestic demand are cooling quickly, even though export growth was slightly better than expected.
Financial stocks were mixed, with Spanish lenders leading losses as shares in BBVA tumbled 1.37% and Banco Santader fell 0.33%. Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredi were also lower, with shares declining 0.97% and 0.73% respectively.
Meanwhile, France’s BNP Paribas and Societe General advanced 0.65% and 0.29%, while Germany’s two biggest lenders, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, rose 0.07% and 0.88% respectively.
France-based healthcare company Sanofi saw shares climb 0.87% after announcing plans to divest its 19.3% stake in the Yves Rocher Group by the end of the third quarter of 2012.
In London, FTSE 100 eased 0.05%, ahead of the release of key U.K. manufacturing and trade data.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as shares in HSBC Holdings rose 0.36% and Lloyds Banking advanced 0.40%, while Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland added 0.17% and 0.05%.
Elsewhere, copper producer Xstrata contributed to gains, with shares climbing 0.47%, while mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton declined 0.87% and 0.37% respectively.
Energy stocks were also mixed, as shares in BP rose 0.50% and Cairn Energy jumped 1.41%, while Essar Energy plummeted 2.75% after Barclays cut the company’s price target.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.28% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.45% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.41% drop.
Also Tuesday, official data showed that French industrial production tumbled 1.9% in May, far more than expectations for a 0.9% fall and following a 1.4% rise the previous month.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.18%, France’s CAC 40 inched down 0.06%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.46%.
Market sentiment remained under pressure after a first day of talks between euro zone finance ministers on Monday offered few signs of progress in tackling the region’s debt crisis.
Euro zone ministers agreed to push Spain’s deadline to reach its deficit reduction targets back to 2014 in exchange for further budget savings and set the parameters of an aid package for Madrid's ailing banks.
They made no apparent progress, however, on activating the bloc's rescue funds to intervene in bond markets and bring down Spain and Italy’s spiraling borrowing costs.
Spain’s 10-year government bonds were hovering at 6.94% earlier Tuesday, while Italy’s 10-year bonds were at 6.05%, both above the 6% threshold which is widely seen as unsustainable.
Meanwhile, data showed that China's imports in June grew at half the expected pace, underscoring that the country’s economy and domestic demand are cooling quickly, even though export growth was slightly better than expected.
Financial stocks were mixed, with Spanish lenders leading losses as shares in BBVA tumbled 1.37% and Banco Santader fell 0.33%. Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredi were also lower, with shares declining 0.97% and 0.73% respectively.
Meanwhile, France’s BNP Paribas and Societe General advanced 0.65% and 0.29%, while Germany’s two biggest lenders, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, rose 0.07% and 0.88% respectively.
France-based healthcare company Sanofi saw shares climb 0.87% after announcing plans to divest its 19.3% stake in the Yves Rocher Group by the end of the third quarter of 2012.
In London, FTSE 100 eased 0.05%, ahead of the release of key U.K. manufacturing and trade data.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as shares in HSBC Holdings rose 0.36% and Lloyds Banking advanced 0.40%, while Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland added 0.17% and 0.05%.
Elsewhere, copper producer Xstrata contributed to gains, with shares climbing 0.47%, while mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton declined 0.87% and 0.37% respectively.
Energy stocks were also mixed, as shares in BP rose 0.50% and Cairn Energy jumped 1.41%, while Essar Energy plummeted 2.75% after Barclays cut the company’s price target.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.28% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.45% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.41% drop.
Also Tuesday, official data showed that French industrial production tumbled 1.9% in May, far more than expectations for a 0.9% fall and following a 1.4% rise the previous month.