Investing.com - European stocks were mixed to lower on Tuesday, after report showing that German economic sentiment deteriorated in January and as downbeat comments by European Central Bank governing council member Ewald Nowotny on Monday continued to weigh.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged down 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.14%, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased 0.01%.
German economic sentiment deteriorated slightly in February, according to data released on Tuesday, as concerns that the economic recovery in the U.S. could lose momentum weighed.
The ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiment came in at 55.7 this month, down from 61.7 in January. Analysts had expected an unchanged reading.
Separtely, ECB governing council member Ewald Nowotny said on Monday that a negative deposit rate from the ECB may fail to stimulate more lending and could have an adverse psychological effect.
In Italy, Democratic Party Secretary Matteo Renzi, who is set to become Italy's youngest prime minister, met with President Giorgio Napolitano on Monday who gave him a mandate to form a government.
Renzi now has to form a coalition deal before a formal vote of confidence in parliament later this week.
Financial stocks were mmixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale declined 0.87% and 0.60%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank gained 0.60% and 0.04%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA retreated 1.25% and 1.55% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo rose 0.27%.
Elsewhere, Casino Guichard-Perrachon surged 4.62% after reporting an 18% rise in 2013 earnings.
Pandora rallied 1.63% after the Danish jeweler said fourth-quarter net income climbed 76% to USD136 million, beating analysts' estimates.
In London, FTSE 100 was up 0.28%, after data showed that consumer price inflation in the U.K. fell back below the Bank of England’s 2% target for the first time since November 2009 in January.
Financial stocks were mixed, as shares in Lloyds Banking dipped 0.02% and HSBC Holdings dropped 0.30%, while Barclays advanced 0.90% and the Royal Bank of Scotland jumped 2.12%.
Mining stocks were also broadly lower, as Glencore Xstrata lost shed 0.32% and Rio Tinto declined 0.61%, while Vedanta Resources and Randgold Resources plummeted 2.27% and 1.72%%
Meanwhile, Drax Group saw shares plunge 2.92% after the power producer posted 2013 earnings of GBP230 million, a drop of 23% from a year earlier.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.06% slip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.16% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.16% loss.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on manufacturing activity in the Empire State.