Investing.com - European stocks were pushed lower on Tuesday, as markets remained focused on the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on Thursday, after Moody’s rating agency downgraded the outlook for the European Union’s credit rating.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.19%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.62%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.49%.
Earlier in the day, Moody’s put the EU’s AAA credit rating on negative outlook, saying that its decision is in line with projections for the main budget contributors to the EU.
Germany, the Netherlands, France and the U.K. are all already on negative outlook.
Sentiment remained mildly supported however, after ECB President Mario Draghi indicated on Monday that he would be comfortable buying bonds with maturities of up to about three years, saying that it would not constitute state financing.
At its policy meeting on Thursday, the ECB is expected to announce the details of a long awaited debt-buying program designed to help ease funding pressures for indebted euro zone countries.
Financial stocks remained mixed as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale climbed 0.60% and 0.81% respectively, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank tumbled 1.34%.
Meanwhile, shares in German airline company Lufthansa extended earlier losses, plunging 1.53%, as flight attendants began strikes at two major German hubs earlier in the day. The Independent Flight Attendants Organization (UFO) trade union announced further action for the afternoon.
Auto makers also pushed lower, led by German group Volkswagen, down 2.89%, and closely followed by BMW, whose shares plunged 2.43%, while France’s Peugeot and Renault lost 1.17% and 1.62% respectively.
France’s car industry association reported earlier that sales tumbled 11% in August, posting a tenth monthly decline.
In London, FTSE 100 slumped 0.93%, after data showed that U.K. construction activity contracted unexpectedly in August, as new orders fell at the sharpest rate since April 2009.
Vodafone led losses, with shares plummeting 2.25% after Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. downgraded the U.K. mobile-phone operator to “market perform” from “outperform”.
Elsewhere, mining stocks turned broadly lower. Shares in Rio Tinto tumbled 2.11% and BHP Billiton declined 1.20%, while Evraz saw shares sink 2.09%.
In the financial sector, stocks remained on the downside, as shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland plunged 1.28% and HSBC Holdings dropped 0.74%, while Lloyds Banking and Barclays declined 0.54% and 0.34%.
Separately, a parliamentary report revealed earlier that the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority is preparing to investigate the computer failures that recently left some of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s 17 million customers unable to access their accounts.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.08% dip.
Also Tuesday, government data showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain rose by 38,200 in August, following a 27,800 decline the previous month.
Later in the day, the Institute for Supply Management was to release a report on U.S. manufacturing activity.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.19%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.62%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.49%.
Earlier in the day, Moody’s put the EU’s AAA credit rating on negative outlook, saying that its decision is in line with projections for the main budget contributors to the EU.
Germany, the Netherlands, France and the U.K. are all already on negative outlook.
Sentiment remained mildly supported however, after ECB President Mario Draghi indicated on Monday that he would be comfortable buying bonds with maturities of up to about three years, saying that it would not constitute state financing.
At its policy meeting on Thursday, the ECB is expected to announce the details of a long awaited debt-buying program designed to help ease funding pressures for indebted euro zone countries.
Financial stocks remained mixed as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale climbed 0.60% and 0.81% respectively, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank tumbled 1.34%.
Meanwhile, shares in German airline company Lufthansa extended earlier losses, plunging 1.53%, as flight attendants began strikes at two major German hubs earlier in the day. The Independent Flight Attendants Organization (UFO) trade union announced further action for the afternoon.
Auto makers also pushed lower, led by German group Volkswagen, down 2.89%, and closely followed by BMW, whose shares plunged 2.43%, while France’s Peugeot and Renault lost 1.17% and 1.62% respectively.
France’s car industry association reported earlier that sales tumbled 11% in August, posting a tenth monthly decline.
In London, FTSE 100 slumped 0.93%, after data showed that U.K. construction activity contracted unexpectedly in August, as new orders fell at the sharpest rate since April 2009.
Vodafone led losses, with shares plummeting 2.25% after Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. downgraded the U.K. mobile-phone operator to “market perform” from “outperform”.
Elsewhere, mining stocks turned broadly lower. Shares in Rio Tinto tumbled 2.11% and BHP Billiton declined 1.20%, while Evraz saw shares sink 2.09%.
In the financial sector, stocks remained on the downside, as shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland plunged 1.28% and HSBC Holdings dropped 0.74%, while Lloyds Banking and Barclays declined 0.54% and 0.34%.
Separately, a parliamentary report revealed earlier that the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority is preparing to investigate the computer failures that recently left some of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s 17 million customers unable to access their accounts.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.08% dip.
Also Tuesday, government data showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain rose by 38,200 in August, following a 27,800 decline the previous month.
Later in the day, the Institute for Supply Management was to release a report on U.S. manufacturing activity.