Investing.com - European stocks trimmed losses on Tuesday, after the release of positive euro zone industrial production data, but comments by Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart on Monday continued to weigh on equity markets.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 slid 0.46%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.55%.
In a report, Eurostat said industrial production in the euro zone increased by 1.8% in November, beating expectations for a 1.4% gain. Industrial production in October was revised to a 0.8% decline, compared to a previously reported drop of 1.1%.
In addition, European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said there was a potential upside to the ECB’s growth forecast for this year. The ECB revised its growth forecast for 2014 slightly higher in December, saying it now expects growth of 1.1%.
Equity markets weakened broadly on Monday, after Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said that the U.S. central bank should push ahead with its efforts to wind down monetary stimulus.
Financial stocks remained mostly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 0.48% and 0.99%, although Germany's Deutsche Bank climbed 0.42%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA fell 0.02% and 0.37% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit retreated 0.70% and 1.04%.
Adding to losses, Jeronimo Martins SGPS plummeted 3.14% after the Portuguese retailer said sales growth slowed in Poland, which is its largest market.
On the upside, Celesio surged 6.40% after McKesson Corp. said it failed to gain support from enough shareholders to buy the drug distributor.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.20%, weighed by losses in mining stocks.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton slid 0.57% and 0.75% respectively, while Glencore Xstrata and Vedanta Resources shed 0.31% and 0.68%.
In the financial sector, stocks turned mixed as the Royal Bank of Scotland inched up 0.03% and Lloyds Banking gained 0.47%, while Barclays eased 0.09% and HSBC Holdings lost 0.47%.
Meanwhile, Astrazeneca remaiend one of the top performers on the index, with shares up 1.87%, 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 0.04% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.09% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.08% uptick.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on retail sales, as well as reports on import prices and business inventories.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 slid 0.46%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.55%.
In a report, Eurostat said industrial production in the euro zone increased by 1.8% in November, beating expectations for a 1.4% gain. Industrial production in October was revised to a 0.8% decline, compared to a previously reported drop of 1.1%.
In addition, European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said there was a potential upside to the ECB’s growth forecast for this year. The ECB revised its growth forecast for 2014 slightly higher in December, saying it now expects growth of 1.1%.
Equity markets weakened broadly on Monday, after Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said that the U.S. central bank should push ahead with its efforts to wind down monetary stimulus.
Financial stocks remained mostly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 0.48% and 0.99%, although Germany's Deutsche Bank climbed 0.42%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA fell 0.02% and 0.37% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit retreated 0.70% and 1.04%.
Adding to losses, Jeronimo Martins SGPS plummeted 3.14% after the Portuguese retailer said sales growth slowed in Poland, which is its largest market.
On the upside, Celesio surged 6.40% after McKesson Corp. said it failed to gain support from enough shareholders to buy the drug distributor.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.20%, weighed by losses in mining stocks.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton slid 0.57% and 0.75% respectively, while Glencore Xstrata and Vedanta Resources shed 0.31% and 0.68%.
In the financial sector, stocks turned mixed as the Royal Bank of Scotland inched up 0.03% and Lloyds Banking gained 0.47%, while Barclays eased 0.09% and HSBC Holdings lost 0.47%.
Meanwhile, Astrazeneca remaiend one of the top performers on the index, with shares up 1.87%, 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 0.04% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.09% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.08% uptick.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on retail sales, as well as reports on import prices and business inventories.