Investing.com - European stocks opened broadly lower on Tuesday, as concerns over a Greek default and the country's potential exit from the euro zone continued to dominate market sentiment after negotiations with international creditors stalled over the weekend.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.85%, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1%, while Germany’s DAX 30 retreated 0.91%.
Markets were hit after Greek Prime MinisterAlexis Tsipras interrupted last-ditch debt negotiations early Saturday and said he was calling a referendum for July 5 on whether to accept the terms offered by international creditors.
The Greek government ordered an emergency bank shutdown on Sunday night and the central bank moved to impose capital controls as the banking system neared insolvency after deposit outflows accelerated over the weekend.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) dropped 0.51% and 0.77%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) eased 0.04%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) fell 0.13% and 0.37% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) edged down 0.16% and 0.23%.
Elsewhere, Pernod Ricard (PARIS:PERP) SA tumbled 1.75% after the French distiller predicted slower growth this year.
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (PARIS:LVMH) saw shares plummet 2.72% after Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC). cut its rating on the luxury-goods stock to "underperform."
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.76%, weighed by losses in the financial sector.
Shares in HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) dropped 0.42% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) lost 0.70%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) slid 0.75% and 0.80% respectively.
Ocado (LONDON:OCDO) added to losses, with shares retreating 2.60% after the online supermarket posted first-half earnings that missed analysts' estimates and said the outlook remains subdued.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were also broadly lower on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) fell 0.28% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) declined 0.82%, while Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) lost 0.84%. Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) overperformed however, with shares up 0.14%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.27% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.30% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.27% rise.