Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Tuesday, as fresh concerns over Greece's bailout deal weighed on equity markets.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.40%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.23%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged down 0.26%.
Markets were jittery after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi told Greek officials at a meeting on Monday that they must let euro-area representatives return to Athens and examine the government's books in order to obtain more aid.
Greece reportedly agreed to allow experts representing the European Commission, ECB and International Monetary Fund to start work in Athens on Wednesday.
Earlier Tuesday, official data showed that French industrial production rose 0.4% in January, confounding expectations for a 0.3% fall. December's figure was revised to an increase of 1.4% from a previously estimated 1.5% gain.
European equities had found support on Monday after the European Central Bank confirmed that it started asset purchases under its quantitative easing program.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) dropped 0.77% and 0.48%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) eased 0.07%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) fell 0.27% and 0.37% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) declined 0.52% and 0.76% respectively.
Elsewhere, RWE AG (XETRA:RWEG) plummeted 1.94% after the German power company reported a 45% drop in full-year profit.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.21%, weighed by losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) slipped 0.24% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) tumbled 1.12%, while rivals Antofagasta (LONDON:ANTO) and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) plummeted 1.79% and 1.81% respectively.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) edged down 0.24% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) dropped 0.84%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) added 0.11% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) jumped 1.21%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.38% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.39% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.31% loss.