Investing.com - European stocks opened lower on Monday, as plummeting oil prices weighed on equity markets around the globe after a summit in Doha ended without any agreement on a potential production freeze.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.65%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.41%, while Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.26%.
Oil prices tumbled after Iran decided not to attend this weekend’s meeting in Qatar to discuss a potential production freeze.
Iran's oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Saturday that a production freeze will not help the country benefit from the lifting of international sanctions.
In response, Saudi Arabia vowed not to freeze production unless other major producers did the same.
Energy stocks were sharply lower, as French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) plummeted 2.54% and Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) SpA lost 2.95%, while Norwegian rival Statoil ASA (OL:STL) dove 3.53%.
Financial stocks were also on the downside, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) retreated 0.97% and 1.07%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) slumped 1.18% and 1.51%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) declined 0.60% and 1.06% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) lost 1.60% and 1.54%.
Elsewhere, shares in Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) dropped 1.71% following reports the German carmaker is offering bigger discounts in its home market to try to attract customers after the company admitted using software to allow diesel vehicles to cheat emissions tests.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slid 0.67%, weighed by sharp losses in mining and energy stocks.
Shares in Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) tumbled 1.28% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) lost 1.72%, while Antofagast and Anglo American (LON:AAL) plunged 3.12% and 3.42% respectively.
Oil and gas major BP (LON:BP) added to losses, with shares diving 2.32%, while rival company plummeted 3.06%.
In the financial sector, stocks were also broadly lower. Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) slid 0.32% and Barclays (LON:BARC) retreated 0.75%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) and HSBC Holding tumbled 1.06% and 1.38% respectively.
On the upside, easyJet (LON:EZJ) rallied 1.73% following news the airliner made a surprise takeover bid for rival company Monarch.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.43% decline, S&P 500 futures a 0.47% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.47% loss.