Investing.com - European stocks remained lower on Tuesday, after the release of weak German economic data and amid renewed concerns over U.S. debt ceiling negotiations weighed, although comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke lent some support to market sentiment.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 edged 0.20% lower, while Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.30%.
Preliminary data showed that Germany’s economy contracted by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, bringing the annual rate of growth to 0.7%, a sharp slowdown from 3% growth in 2011.
On Monday, Fed Chairman Bernanke said that he was still unsatisfied with the economy’s progress, despite some recent signs of improvement.
But investors remained cautious, as negotiations on raising the U.S. debt ceiling were coming up in February.
Financial stocks remained broadly lower, as shares in French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas tumbled 1.82% and 1.75%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank dipped 0.03%.
Peripheral lenders were mixed, with Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander plummetinf 0.90% and 3.17%, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo jumped 1.03% and 1.15% respectively.
Elsewhere, Air Liquide declined 0.83% and engineering company Linde tumbled 1% after both groups had their recommendations cut to underperform from neutral at Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit.
In London, FTSE 100 dipped 0.02%, after official data showed that consumer inflation remained unchanged at 2.7% in December.
ARM Holdings, whose chips power Apple’s iPhones, remained sharply lower, with shares plunging 4.32%, as the stock was cut to equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. The Royal Bank of Scotland plummeted 1.65% and Barclays retreated 0.77%, while HSBC Holdings and Lloyds Banking rose 0.33% and 0.36%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks continued to trend higher, as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton added 0.27% and 0.44%, while copper producer Xstrata surged 1.38%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.20 fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.31% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.22% loss.
Also Tuesday, data showed that the euro zone trade surplus widened to EUR11 billion in November from EUR7.4 billion in October, as exports rose 5%.
Later in the day, the U.S. is to publish government data on retail sales, as well as official data on producer price inflation and manufacturing activity in New York state.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 edged 0.20% lower, while Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.30%.
Preliminary data showed that Germany’s economy contracted by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, bringing the annual rate of growth to 0.7%, a sharp slowdown from 3% growth in 2011.
On Monday, Fed Chairman Bernanke said that he was still unsatisfied with the economy’s progress, despite some recent signs of improvement.
But investors remained cautious, as negotiations on raising the U.S. debt ceiling were coming up in February.
Financial stocks remained broadly lower, as shares in French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas tumbled 1.82% and 1.75%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank dipped 0.03%.
Peripheral lenders were mixed, with Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander plummetinf 0.90% and 3.17%, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo jumped 1.03% and 1.15% respectively.
Elsewhere, Air Liquide declined 0.83% and engineering company Linde tumbled 1% after both groups had their recommendations cut to underperform from neutral at Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit.
In London, FTSE 100 dipped 0.02%, after official data showed that consumer inflation remained unchanged at 2.7% in December.
ARM Holdings, whose chips power Apple’s iPhones, remained sharply lower, with shares plunging 4.32%, as the stock was cut to equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. The Royal Bank of Scotland plummeted 1.65% and Barclays retreated 0.77%, while HSBC Holdings and Lloyds Banking rose 0.33% and 0.36%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks continued to trend higher, as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton added 0.27% and 0.44%, while copper producer Xstrata surged 1.38%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.20 fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.31% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.22% loss.
Also Tuesday, data showed that the euro zone trade surplus widened to EUR11 billion in November from EUR7.4 billion in October, as exports rose 5%.
Later in the day, the U.S. is to publish government data on retail sales, as well as official data on producer price inflation and manufacturing activity in New York state.