Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Wednesday, as declining oil prices continued to weigh on global equity markets.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.03%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.88%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.69%.
Oil prices slipped below $32 a barel on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said that production cuts "will not happen".
Separately, Iran also said it had no interest in reducing production after international sanctions against it were lifted, calling a joint Russian/Saudi proposal for major exporters to freeze output "laughable"
Energy-related stocks were broadly lower, as French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) tumbled 1.02% and Italian rival ENI (MI:ENI) dropped 0.83%, while Norway’s Statoil plunged 4.13%.
Financial stocks were also on the downside, as BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) declined 0.82% and 0.86%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) plummeted 1.47% and 1.58%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) retreated 0.96% and 0.72% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) fell 0.11% and 0.36%.
Elsewhere, Peugeot SA (PA:PEUP) surged 3.92% after the French automaker swung to a full-year net profit in 2015 of €899 million compared to a loss the previous year.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dropped 0.57%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Rio Tinto (L:RIO) tumbled 2.37% and Bhp Billiton (L:BLT) plummeted 4.20%, while Anglo American (L:AAL) and Glencore (L:GLEN) plunged 4.45% and 4.52% respectively.
Financial stocks added to losses, as Lloyds Banking (L:LLOY) slid 0.40% and Barclays (L:BARC) lost 1.39%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) retreated 1.36%. HSBC Holdings (L:HSBA) held steady, with shares inching up just 0.02%.
Meanwhile, Persimmon (L:PSN) remained one of the top performers on the index for a second consecutive session, with shares rallying 2.71% after the housebuilder reported a 34% climb in pre-tax profit in 2015 on Tuesday.
Investors also continued to focus on discussions over a posssible British exit from the European Union, with a referendum set to be held on June 23.
In the Bank of England’s Inflation Report hearings on Tuesday, BoE governor Mark Carney said that the central bank would treat the Brexit like any other political event.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a to lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.11% fall, S&P 500 futures a 0.12% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.22% slide.