Investing.com - European stocks were sharply lower on Tuesday, after comments by Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart on Monday weighed on global equity markets, while investors eyed the release of euro zone data later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.74%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.68%, while Germany’s DAX 30 lost 0.94%.
Equity markets weakened broadly after Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart on Monday said that the U.S. central bank should push ahead with its efforts to wind down monetary stimulus.
The comments came after Friday’s data showing that the U.S. economy added far fewer jobs than expected in December cast doubts over the strength of the recovery in the labor market, and fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain loose monetary policy for longer.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale tumbled 1% and 1.42%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank slipped 0.16%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA dropped 0.50% and 0.96% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit lost 1.06% and 1.37%.
Adding to losses, Jeronimo Martins SGPS plummeted 3.07% after the Portuguese retailer said sales growth slowed in Poland, which is its largest market.
On the upside, Celesio surged 6.24% after McKesson Corp. said it failed to gain support from enough shareholders to buy the drug distributor.
In London, FTSE 100 retreated 0.55%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts sharply lower.
Shares in Lloyds Banking dipped 0.02% and Barclays declined 0.45%, while HSBC Holdings and the Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled 0.81% and 1.44% respectively.
Mining stocks were also on the downside, as Glencore Xstrata slid 0.41%, while Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton retreated 0.30% and 0.45%.
Meanwhile, Astrazeneca led gains on the index, with shares rallying 2.71%, after the drugmaker said it expects to return to growth sooner than initially predicted.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.06% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.03% uptick.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release data on industrial production. The U.S. was to produce data on retail sales, as well as reports on import prices and business inventories.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.74%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.68%, while Germany’s DAX 30 lost 0.94%.
Equity markets weakened broadly after Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart on Monday said that the U.S. central bank should push ahead with its efforts to wind down monetary stimulus.
The comments came after Friday’s data showing that the U.S. economy added far fewer jobs than expected in December cast doubts over the strength of the recovery in the labor market, and fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain loose monetary policy for longer.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale tumbled 1% and 1.42%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank slipped 0.16%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA dropped 0.50% and 0.96% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit lost 1.06% and 1.37%.
Adding to losses, Jeronimo Martins SGPS plummeted 3.07% after the Portuguese retailer said sales growth slowed in Poland, which is its largest market.
On the upside, Celesio surged 6.24% after McKesson Corp. said it failed to gain support from enough shareholders to buy the drug distributor.
In London, FTSE 100 retreated 0.55%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts sharply lower.
Shares in Lloyds Banking dipped 0.02% and Barclays declined 0.45%, while HSBC Holdings and the Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled 0.81% and 1.44% respectively.
Mining stocks were also on the downside, as Glencore Xstrata slid 0.41%, while Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton retreated 0.30% and 0.45%.
Meanwhile, Astrazeneca led gains on the index, with shares rallying 2.71%, after the drugmaker said it expects to return to growth sooner than initially predicted.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.06% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.03% uptick.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release data on industrial production. The U.S. was to produce data on retail sales, as well as reports on import prices and business inventories.