Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Monday, after the release of mixed economic reports from Germany and France, although expectations for further easing measures by the European Central Bank grew stronger.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.65%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.89%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.42%.
Research group Markit said that Germany's manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked up to 52.6 this month from 52.1 in October, beating expectations for a downtick to 52.0.
Germany's services PMI rose to 55.6 in November from 54.5 in October, Markit added, compared to expectations for a slip to 54.3.
In France, Markit's manufacturing PMI ticked up to 50.8 in November from 50.6 the previous month, in line with expectations, while the services PMI fell to 51.3 from 52.7.
European equities had strengthened after ECB President Mario Draghi said last Friday that the bank is ready to act quickly to boost inflation in the euro zone and can also change the level of its deposit rate to boost the impact of quantitative easing.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) dropped 0.88% and 0.50%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) slipped 0.14% and 0.31%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) declined 0.64%, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) lost 0.62% and 0.63% respectively.
On the upside, Wincor Nixdorf AG gained 0.42% after Diebold Inc. agreed to buy the German company in a move to create the biggest maker of cash machines and security systems.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slid 0.85%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Bhp Billiton (L:BLT) plummeted 2.94% and Antofagasta (L:ANTO) lost 3.27%, while Anglo American (L:AAL) and Glencore (L:GLEN) dove 4.25% and 4.83% respectively.
Financial stocks added to losses, as HSBC Holdings (L:HSBA) dipped 0.04% and Lloyds Banking (L:LLOY) declined 0.60%, while Barclays (L:BARC) dropped 0.81% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) tumbled 0.95%.
Tesco (L:TSCO) saw shares plummet 1.60% following reports that losses at Harris & Hoole, the coffee chain part-owned by Tesco, doubled last year after a rapid expansion of the business.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.15% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.19% slide, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.14% loss.