Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious despite fresh hopes for a breakthrough on Greece’s debt negotiations.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.42%, France’s CAC 40 slumped 0.69%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.49%.
Investors continued focus on developments in Greece after the local prime minister Alexis Tsipras reshuffled the team handling talks with the country’s international lenders, fuelling optimism that a deal will be reached by early May.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) declined 0.78% and 0.94%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) tumbled 1.13% and 1.88%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) slipped 0.08% and 0.62% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) slid 0.73% and 0.95%.
Orange SA (PARIS:ORAN) added to losses, as shares plummeted 2.21% after the French telecommunications carrier reported a drop in first-quarter sales and earnings.
On the upside, Total SA (PARIS:TOTF) saw shares rally 1.27% after the French oil and gas company said that first-quarter profit beat analysts' estimates, helped by the fastest rate of production growth in more than a decade.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slid 0.35%, weighed by losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) dropped 0.76% and Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) tumbled 1.56%, while Astrazeneca (LONDON:AZN) saw shares plunge 1.79%, leading losses on the index.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower. Barclays (LONDON:BARC) slipped 0.21% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) declined 0.51%, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) retreated 0.55% and 0.57% respectively.
Elsewhere, shares in Land Securities Group Plc (LONDON:LAND) jumped 1.53% after the commercial property grouup had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by Jefferies Group on Monday.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.09% slip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.10% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.01% dip.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on consumer confidence.