Investing.com - European stocks were broadly lower on Friday, as renewed concerns over a potential Greek default weighed after the International Monetary Fund chose to leave negotiations.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.74%, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.71%, while Germany’s DAX 30 tumbled 0.94%.
European equities were hit when the IMF pulled out of Greek debt talks on Thursday after it accused Athens of failing to compromise over labour market and pension reforms.
The IMF said its team of negotiators had quit talks in Brussels after reaching a stalemate and would be returning to Washington.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was scheduled to resume talks in Brussels with European commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday. However, such a meeting is now in doubt.
A government spokesman said Greece's negotiating team is "ready" to intensify efforts to wrap up a deal "even in the next 24 hours."
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) declined 0.57% and 0.44%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) slid 0.26% and 0.30%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) fell 0.26% and 0.30% respectively, while Spanish bank Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) dropped 0.52%.
Elsewhere, Alstom (PARIS:ALSO) SA rallied 1.21% after UBS Group AG said the company's purchase by General Electric (NYSE:GE) Co. will likely get European Commission approval if the U.S. group agrees on certain conditions.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slid 0.48%, weighed by losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) edged down 0.11% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) declined 0.49%, while Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) tumbled 1.04% and 1.09% respectively.
In the financial sector, stocks were also broadly lower. Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) edged down 0.07% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) slipped 0.20%, while Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) lost 0.41% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) dropped 0.57%.
Meanwhile, Royal Mail (LONDON:RMG) led gains on the index, with shares up 1.46%, after plummeting over 3% on Thursday following news Britain's new government is selling half of its 30% stake in the company.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.26% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.30% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.40% decline.