Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated two-day policy meeting this week.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.19%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.18%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged down 0.12%.
Markets were jittery ahead of the outcome of the upcoming Fed meeting, after a recent series of lukewarm U.S. data raised doubts over whether the central bank will start to taper its USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program.
European stocks gained ground on Monday after Lawrence Summers pulled out of the race to be the next Fed chairman, easing investor concerns that he would roll back economic stimulus measures more aggressively than his main rival for the post, Janet Yellen.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale slid 0.61% and 0.83%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank fell 0.35%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA retreated 0.68% and 1.15% respectively, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo declined 0.34% and 0.61%.
Elsewhere, Air France-KLM tumbled 1.59% amid reports it is reviewing provincial bases in southern France created just a year ago as the airline company grapples with losses that caught it by surprise.
In London, FTSE 100 shed 0.27%, weighed by losses in financial stocks.
Shares in HSBC Holdings retreated 0.59% and Barclays lost 0.79%, while Lloyds Banking and the Royal Bank of Scotland plummeted 1.61% and 1.69%.
Earlier in the day, the U.K. government sold a GBP3.2 billion stake in Lloyds Banking, in a first step toward full private ownership of Britain’s largest mortgage lender.
Mining stocks added to losses, with Glencore Xstrata plunging 1.98% and Rio Tinto tumbled 1.35%, while Vedanta Resources and Polymetal saw shares dive 3.29% and 4.04% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.05% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.07% fall.
Later in the day, the ZEW Institute was to release its closely watched report on German economic sentiment, while the U.S. was to release data on consumer price inflation.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.19%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.18%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged down 0.12%.
Markets were jittery ahead of the outcome of the upcoming Fed meeting, after a recent series of lukewarm U.S. data raised doubts over whether the central bank will start to taper its USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program.
European stocks gained ground on Monday after Lawrence Summers pulled out of the race to be the next Fed chairman, easing investor concerns that he would roll back economic stimulus measures more aggressively than his main rival for the post, Janet Yellen.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale slid 0.61% and 0.83%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank fell 0.35%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA retreated 0.68% and 1.15% respectively, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo declined 0.34% and 0.61%.
Elsewhere, Air France-KLM tumbled 1.59% amid reports it is reviewing provincial bases in southern France created just a year ago as the airline company grapples with losses that caught it by surprise.
In London, FTSE 100 shed 0.27%, weighed by losses in financial stocks.
Shares in HSBC Holdings retreated 0.59% and Barclays lost 0.79%, while Lloyds Banking and the Royal Bank of Scotland plummeted 1.61% and 1.69%.
Earlier in the day, the U.K. government sold a GBP3.2 billion stake in Lloyds Banking, in a first step toward full private ownership of Britain’s largest mortgage lender.
Mining stocks added to losses, with Glencore Xstrata plunging 1.98% and Rio Tinto tumbled 1.35%, while Vedanta Resources and Polymetal saw shares dive 3.29% and 4.04% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.05% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.07% fall.
Later in the day, the ZEW Institute was to release its closely watched report on German economic sentiment, while the U.S. was to release data on consumer price inflation.