Investing.com - European stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious after anti-austerity Syriza party won Greek national elections on Sunday and ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy meeting.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.50%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.29%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.21%.
Markets were still jittery after anti-austerity Syriza party's sweeping election victory in Greece amid concerns over its pledge to renegotiate the terms of Greece's €240 billion international bailout, which could cause the country to leave the euro zone.
Investors were looking ahead to the outcome of Wednesday’s Fed meeting, with the bank expected to stick to its pledge to be patient on tightening monetary policy.
European equities had strengthened last week after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi announced that the bank will make monthly purchases of €60 billion per month, starting in March and continuing until late 2016.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) declined 0.59% and 1%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) tumbled 1.86% and 0.60%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit slid 0.40%, while Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander lost 0.60% and 0.64%.
Also on the downside, Siemens (XETRA:SIEGn) plummeted 2.32% after the German engineering company said that first-quarter profit met analyst estimates.
Elsewhere, Novartis (SIX:NOVN) jumped 0.98% as the drugmaker said it will seek to cut costs in Switzerland after predicting that the franc's gains will hurt profit in 2015.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 added 0.08%, led by easyJet Plc (LONDON:EZJ), up 4.38% after airline carrier said first-half seasonal losses would shrink this year to between £10 million and £30 million from £53 million last year.
Mining stocks added to gains, as Rio Tinto and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) advanced 0.86% and 1.06% respectively, while Randgold Resources and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) rallied 1.56% and 1.67%.
In the financial sector, stocks were steady to lower. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) dipped 0.03% and Barclays inched up 0.03%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) slipped 0.10% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) dropped 0.65%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.10% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.08% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.07% dip.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on durable goods orders, as well as private sector reports on consumer confidence and new home sales.