Investing.com - European stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday, as markets paused following the previous session’s sharp gains and turned to an upcoming speech by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.08%, France’s CAC 40 eased up 0.07%, while Germany’s DAX 30 inched 0.08% higher.
European equities rallied on Monday as concerns over a potential British exit from the European Union, or Brexit, subsided after two opinion polls published on Saturday showed that support for the 'Remain' campaign had regained its lead over a vote to leave.
Separately, oil prices moved back lower after two consecutive sessions of gains, weighing on the energy sector.
French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) slid 0.32% and Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) fell 0.21%, while Norwegian rival Statoil (OL:STL) tumbled 1.30%.
Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) added to losses, with shares down 1% after German prosecutors on Monday opened an investigation of the carmaker’s former Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn and the head of the Volkswagen passenger car brand, Herbert Diess, for allegedly not informing investors quickly enough about potential losses due to the emissions-cheating scandal.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were on the upside, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) gained 0.64% and 0.70%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) rose 0.25%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) advanced 0.16% and 0.81% respectively, while Spanish bank Banco Santander (MC:SAN) inched up 0.03%.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slipped 0.13%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) retreated 0.91% and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) lost 1.54%, while BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) tumbled 1.57% and Anglo American (LON:AAL) plunged 3.40%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mostly higher, as the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) eased up 0.08% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) added 0.15%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) gained 0.81%. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) underperformed, with shares edging down 0.10%.
Whitbread (LON:WTB) was one of the top performers on the index, with shares rallying 1.68% after the hotels and coffee-shop operator said total first-quarter sales rose 8.0%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.37% rise, S&P 500 futures a 0.46% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.42% increase.