Investing.com - Mortgage approvals in the U.K. declined to a two-month low in July, dampening optimism over the health of the housing sector, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the British Banker's Association said that the number of new mortgages approved decreased to 42,800 last month from June’s revised total of 43,200.
Analysts had expected the number of new mortgages approved to rise to 44,200 in July.
Following the release of that data, the pound held on to modest losses against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD dipping 0.03% to trade at 1.6574.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mixed. London’s FTSE 100 tacked on 0.4%, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 inched down 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.1%, while Germany's DAX fell 0.25%.