Investing.com - European stocks turned sharply lower on Monday, as concerns over political turmoil in Spain weighed on market sentiment, despite last week's upbeat euro zone data.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 0.98%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.80%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.63%.
Sentiment weakened as Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faced calls to resign, following corruption allegations against him and senior officials in the ruling Popular Party.
Prime Minister Rajoy strongly denied the corruption allegations in a statement on Saturday.
Markets were also jittery after French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici warned that the euro was too strong following its recent rally.
Investor confidence had improved earlier, after data on Friday showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone improved in January, while inflation and unemployment stabilized, underlining the view that the crisis in the region has turned a corner.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as shares in German lenders Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank tumbled 0.99% and 1.43%, while France's BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 0.56% and 1.63% respectively.
Peripheral lenders added to losses, with Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit plunged 3.29% and 4.19%, while Spain's BBVA and Banco Santander plummeted 1.92% and 2.17%.
On the upside, Swatch rallied 2.19% after reporting a 26% increase in 2012 net income to CHF1.6 billion, as the company said it produced more watches and took advantage of expanded production capacity at its factories.
In London, commodtiy-heavy FTSE 100 declined 0.68%, weighed by losses in mining stocks.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton tumbled 1.24% and 1.43%, while Glencore plunged 3.14%.
Copper producers were also on the downside, as Xstrata and Kazakhmys retreated 1.40% and 2.65% respectively.
Meanwhile, financial stocks remained broadly lower. Shares in HSBC Holdings dropped 0.42% and Lloyds Banking declined 0.81%, while Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland slid 0.81% and 0.87%.
Bloomberg reported earlier that Barclays Finance Director Chris Lucas and General Counsel Mark Harding will retire.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.19% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.19% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% loss.
Also Monday, Spain's Employment Ministry said that the number of unemployed people rose less-than-expected in January, increasing by 132,100 after a 59,100 rise the previous month.
Analysts had expected the number of unemployed people to rise by 150,000 last month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on factory orders.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 0.98%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.80%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.63%.
Sentiment weakened as Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faced calls to resign, following corruption allegations against him and senior officials in the ruling Popular Party.
Prime Minister Rajoy strongly denied the corruption allegations in a statement on Saturday.
Markets were also jittery after French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici warned that the euro was too strong following its recent rally.
Investor confidence had improved earlier, after data on Friday showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone improved in January, while inflation and unemployment stabilized, underlining the view that the crisis in the region has turned a corner.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as shares in German lenders Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank tumbled 0.99% and 1.43%, while France's BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 0.56% and 1.63% respectively.
Peripheral lenders added to losses, with Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit plunged 3.29% and 4.19%, while Spain's BBVA and Banco Santander plummeted 1.92% and 2.17%.
On the upside, Swatch rallied 2.19% after reporting a 26% increase in 2012 net income to CHF1.6 billion, as the company said it produced more watches and took advantage of expanded production capacity at its factories.
In London, commodtiy-heavy FTSE 100 declined 0.68%, weighed by losses in mining stocks.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton tumbled 1.24% and 1.43%, while Glencore plunged 3.14%.
Copper producers were also on the downside, as Xstrata and Kazakhmys retreated 1.40% and 2.65% respectively.
Meanwhile, financial stocks remained broadly lower. Shares in HSBC Holdings dropped 0.42% and Lloyds Banking declined 0.81%, while Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland slid 0.81% and 0.87%.
Bloomberg reported earlier that Barclays Finance Director Chris Lucas and General Counsel Mark Harding will retire.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.19% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.19% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% loss.
Also Monday, Spain's Employment Ministry said that the number of unemployed people rose less-than-expected in January, increasing by 132,100 after a 59,100 rise the previous month.
Analysts had expected the number of unemployed people to rise by 150,000 last month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on factory orders.