Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Monday, as market sentiment weakened after anti-austerity Syriza party won Greek national elections on Sunday and as innvestors eyed the release of German business climate data later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slid 0.33%, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.14%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dipped 0.01%.
Markets were jittery as Syriza's victory sparked concerns over Greece's future in the euro zone.
Party leader Alexis Tsipras has pledged to renegotiate the terms of Greece's €240 billion bailout and reverse many of the austerity measures imposed by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
European equities had strengthened last week after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi announced that the bank will make monthly purchases of €60 billion per month, starting in March and continuing until late 2016.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) slid 0.31% and 0.85%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) declined 0.88% and 1.14%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit tumbled 1.76% and 1.96% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander lost 1.08% and 1.69%.
Elsewhere, Sika (SIX:SIK) surged 4.82% after the Swiss adhesives producer said the board considers that the founding family lost its special voting rights when agreeing to sell its controlling stake. The company's management is currently resisting a takeover by glassmaker Saint Gobain (PARIS:SGOB).
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 retreated 0.58%, weighed by sharp losses in mining and enery stocks.
Shares in mining giants Rio Tinto and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) tumbled 2.28% and 2.55% respectively, while Bhp Billiton lost 2.88% and Anglo American plummeted 3.22%.
Oil and gas major BP (LONDON:BP) saw shares plunge 2%, while Tullow Oil (LONDON:TLW) led losses on the index, with shares diving 3.76%.
Financial stocks added to losses, as HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) slid 0.34% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) tumbled 1.10%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) and Barclays plummeted 1.33% and 1.50% respectively.
Meanwhile, Shire (LONDON:SHP) was the top performer on the index, with shares surging 2.64%, following news U.S. regulators approved NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:NPSP)'s drug Natpara, validating the U.K. company's decision to buy NPS for $5.2 billion.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.39% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.34% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.25% fall.