Investing.com - European stocks slid lower on Monday, as optimism sparked by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's latest remarks began to fade and as global growth concerns re-emerged following comments by International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.81%, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 0.92%, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 0.73%.
Global equities strengthened after Fed Chair Janet Yellen said last Thursday that the U.S. central bank remains on track to raise interest rates this year.
The comments reassured investors that monetary policy has not altered significantly following the Fed’s decision to hold off hiking rates earlier this month.
But sentiment weakened after IMF head Christine Lagarde said in an interview on Monday that the IMF is likely to revise downwards its estimates for global economic growth due to slower expansion in emerging economies.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) declined 0.86% and 0.55%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) tumbled 1.02% and 0.72%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) retreated 0.70% and 0.97% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) lost 0.72% and 0.57%.
Elsewhere, German carmaker Volkswagen (XETRA:VOWG) plummeted 4.50% after Matthias Mueller was announced as the beleaguered carmaker's new chief executive on Friday.
Mueller promised investors and customers a thorough investigation into the emissions cheating scandal.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 declined 0.67%, weighed by losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) slid 0.88% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) tumbled 1.22%, while Anglo American (LONDON:AAL) lost 1.42% and Glencore (LONDON:GLEN) plunged 3.77%.
Vodafone Group (LONDON:VOD) Plc added to losses, with shares diving 3.17% after saying talks with Liberty Global Plc (NASDAQ:LBTYA) about a possible merger have ended.
In the financial sector, stocks were also broadly lower. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) retreated 0.66% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) dropped 0.71%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) dropped 0.78% and 0.85% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.13% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.10% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.12% increase.