Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Thursday, as concerns over the current deadlock in Greek debt negotiations weighed heavily on equity markets and as investors eyed fresh talks due to take place later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slid 0.29%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.42%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.15%.
Late night talks between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund ended without agreement on Wednesday.
Discussions were expected to resume in Brussels on Thursday morning, ahead of a Eurogroup meeting of euro zone finance ministers scheduled later in the day.
Tsipras had told associates on Wednesday that some of Greece's latest proposed reform measures had not been accepted by creditors.
Greece has to repay € 1.6 billion to the IMF on June 30 or face going into default, which could trigger the country’s exit from the euro area.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) slipped 0.23% and 0.48%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) added 0.11% and 0.22%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) edged down 0.11% and 0.24% respectively, while BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) inched up 0.04% and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) eased 0.08% in Spain.
Elsewhere, Hennes & Mauritz AB (ST:HMb) plummeted 2.12% after the retailer said that second-quarter profit missed analysts' estimates as the stronger U.S. dollar raised garment costs.
Vivendi (PARIS:VIV) SA saw shares climb 0.81% after saying it increased its stake in Telecom Italia (MILAN:TLIT) SpA.
In London, FTSE 100 fell 0.23%, weighed by losses in the financial sector.
Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) slipped 0.22% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) dropped 0.42%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) declined 0.51%. Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) overperformed on the other hand, with shares adding 0.11%.
In the mining sector, stocks were also broadly lower. Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) slid 0.36% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) lost 0.65%, while Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) declined 0.73%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.30% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.33% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.36% increase.