Investing.com - European markets slipped lower on Monday, as markets digested the results of the German federal elections that took place on Sunday and showed growing support for a far-right party.
The EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.04%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.14%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was down 0.11% by 03:30 a.m. ET (07:30 GMT).
Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term in office on Sunday but will have to build a coalition to form a government as Conservatives lost support in the face of a surge by the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) slid 0.31% and 0.57%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) lost 0.47% and 0.93%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) declined 0.34% and 0.67% respectively, while Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) fell 0.17% and 0.49%.
Elsewhere, Deutsche Telekom AG (DE:DTEGn) climbed 0.39% following news the company has greenlit “Germanized”, a the first original program for the company's Entertain TV service.
Lufthansa added to gains, as shares rallied 1.53% amid reports the German airliner offered to pay €200 million to buy assets from insolvent Air Berlin, plus €100 million to meet operating costs.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dropped 0.40%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) fell 0.29% and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) lost 1.39%, while rivals Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) and Anglo American (LON:AAL) plummted 1.38% and 1.61% respectively.
Financial stocks were also broadly lower, as the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) slid 0.34% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) retreated 0.79%, while HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) dropped 0.81% and Barclays (LON:BARC) tumbled 1.10%.
Meanwhile, Plexus Holdings Plc surged 5.57% after the company said it had signed a contract with Centrica (LON:CNA) to deliver the group's POS-GRIP adjustable production wellhead for a gas production well in the UK Southern North Sea.
Centrica shares were up 1.12% on Monday morning.
ITV (LON:ITV) added to gains, with shares advancing 1.02% after analysts at Liberum Capital reissued their “buy” rating on the stock.
Market participants were also still digesting a speech by UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday in which she gave few new indications on how Brexit will proceed.
May proposed a transition period of around two years after the UK leaves the European Union, during which time access to the single market will continue on current terms.
Following May's speech, ratings agency Moody's downgraded Britain's credit rating to Aa2, saying government plans to reduce debt had been knocked off course and that Brexit would weigh on the economy.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.09% slip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.15% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.23% decline.