Investing.com - European stocks pushed lower on Tuesday, as renewed concerns over the handling of financial troubles in peripheral euro zone countries weighed on market sentiment.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.77%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.63%, while Germany’s DAX 30 tumbled 1.11%.
Stocks came under pressure after Portugal’s Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar resigned late Monday, after recent figures indicated that the country’s budget deficit widened in the first quarter.
Separately, euro zone officials said Tuesday that Greece has three days to reach an agreement with its troika of lenders, in order to secure the next tranche of its bailout funding at a meeting of the eurogroup of finance ministers next Monday.
Meanwhile, investors were looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, for further clues on when the Fed may decide to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program.
Financial stocks turned mostly lower. In France, BNP Paribas rose 0.38% and Societe Generale slid 0.43%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank tumbled 1.17%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish bank BBVA dropped 0.76%, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo retreated 0.77% and 0.24%.
Elsewhere, Michelin rallied 2.68% after UBS AG recommended buying Europe’s largest tiremaker.
Dialog Semiconductor was also on the upside, surging 2.98% after the German maker of chips used in Apple's iPhone agreed to buy IWatt Inc. for as much as USD345 million.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 shed 0.40%, even as data showed that construction activity in the U.K. expanded at the fastest pace since May 2012 in June.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto trimmed gains, up 0.51% and 0.73% respectively, while Anglo American added 0.25% and Polymetal soared 5.20%.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders were broadly lower. Shares in Lloyds Banking slid 0.30% and HSBC Holdings retreated 0.95%, while Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled 1.14% and 2.72%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.28% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.34% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.43% increase.
Also Tuesday, official data showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain fell far more-than-expected in June, declining by 127,200, after a 98,300 drop the previous month.
Analysts had expected the number of unemployed people to fall by 83,500 last month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on factory orders.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.77%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.63%, while Germany’s DAX 30 tumbled 1.11%.
Stocks came under pressure after Portugal’s Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar resigned late Monday, after recent figures indicated that the country’s budget deficit widened in the first quarter.
Separately, euro zone officials said Tuesday that Greece has three days to reach an agreement with its troika of lenders, in order to secure the next tranche of its bailout funding at a meeting of the eurogroup of finance ministers next Monday.
Meanwhile, investors were looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, for further clues on when the Fed may decide to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program.
Financial stocks turned mostly lower. In France, BNP Paribas rose 0.38% and Societe Generale slid 0.43%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank tumbled 1.17%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish bank BBVA dropped 0.76%, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo retreated 0.77% and 0.24%.
Elsewhere, Michelin rallied 2.68% after UBS AG recommended buying Europe’s largest tiremaker.
Dialog Semiconductor was also on the upside, surging 2.98% after the German maker of chips used in Apple's iPhone agreed to buy IWatt Inc. for as much as USD345 million.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 shed 0.40%, even as data showed that construction activity in the U.K. expanded at the fastest pace since May 2012 in June.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto trimmed gains, up 0.51% and 0.73% respectively, while Anglo American added 0.25% and Polymetal soared 5.20%.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders were broadly lower. Shares in Lloyds Banking slid 0.30% and HSBC Holdings retreated 0.95%, while Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled 1.14% and 2.72%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.28% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.34% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.43% increase.
Also Tuesday, official data showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain fell far more-than-expected in June, declining by 127,200, after a 98,300 drop the previous month.
Analysts had expected the number of unemployed people to fall by 83,500 last month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on factory orders.