Investing.com - European stock markets declined for the third consecutive session on Tuesday, as concerns the global economic recovery is faltering dampened demand for riskier assets.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.6%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.1%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 1.1%.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank slumped 2.3% and 2.8% respectively. On the upside, shares of UBS rallied 5.1% after the Swiss bank swung to a profit in its quarterly results.
Automakers also contributed to losses after a report showed that U.S. car sales dropped last month. Volkswagen dropped 1%, Daimler slumped 1.45%, while France’s Renault and Peugeot declined 2% and 1.6% respectively.
Elsewhere, Spain’s IBEX 35 shed 0.3% and Italy’s FTSE MIB index inched down 0.5%. Data on Tuesday showed that the number of people unemployed in Spain rose by 113,097 in January, ending three months of declines, pushing the total out of work to 4,814,435.
Meanwhile, in London, the FTSE 100 edged down 0.4% despite data showing that construction output in the U.K. rose at the fastest rate since August 2007 in January, indicating that the economic recovery is continuing.
In earnings news, oil major British Petroleum slumped 2% after the company reported its first quarterly loss since 2000. ARM Holdings saw shares tumble 5% after the chip maker posted a loss.
Across the Atlantic, U.S. equity markets pointed to a mildly higher open as investors looked ahead to key U.S. economic data later in the day for further indications on the future course of monetary policy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.15%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.2% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated an increase of 0.1%.