Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Thursday, as investors remained cautious ahead of U.S. economic data to be released later in the day and amid fresh political troubles in Italy.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.29%, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.21%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.24%.
Investors were awaiting data on U.S. retail sales, due out later in the day, amid concerns that sales slumped in January after a 0.2% rise in December. Recent weak jobs reports have raised concerns over whether the U.S. recovery has lost momentum form the end of last year.
In the euro zone, Italy's Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, met the center-left leader Matteo Renzi on Wednesday to eventually decide whether Letta will cede his place as head of the coalition government less than a year after taking office.
The leadership group of the center-left Democratic Party was set to meet later Thursday and could decide whether it will continue to support the prime minister.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale lost 3.70% and 0.17%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank tumbled 1.19%.
BNP Paribas earlier said net income fell to EUR127 million from EUR519 million a year earlier after the lender set aside USD1.1 billion tied to a review of payments to parties subject to U.S. economic sanctions. That was the lowest quarterly result since 2008.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo plummeted 1.31% and 1.72% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA dropped 0.73% and 0.88%.
Elsewhere, Renault surged 4.58% after the French carmaker said full-year operating profit climbed 59% as low-cost models from the Dacia division boosted delivery growth and the automaker reduced costs.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.43%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower.
Shares in HSBC Holdings slid 0.32% and the Royal Bank of Scotland retreated 0.58%, while Barclays and Lloyds Banking plummeted 1.49% and 1.99% respectively.
Lloyds reported its fourth consecutive annual loss after earmarking GBP3.5 billion to compensate clients wrongly sold loan insurance and swaps.
Mining stocks were also broadly lower, as BHP Billiton lost 1.23% and Rio Tinto tumbled 1.28%, while rivals Glencore Xstrata and Vedanta Resources dropped 1.53% and 2.18%.
Earlier in the day, Rio Tinto said underlying profit rose to USD10.2 billion, exceeding the USD9.7 billion average estimete.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.38% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.36% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.34% loss.
Later in the day, the European Central Bank was to publish its monthly bulletin.