Investing.com - European stocks slipped lower on Monday, as investors began to eye the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting, scheduled later in the week.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged down 0.14%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.22%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.17%.
European equities had strengthened on Friday after data showed that French industrial production was flat in February, confounding expectations for a 0.1% downtick. January's figure was revised to a 0.3% rise from a previously estimated increase of 0.4%.
A separate report showed that Spain's industrial production increased at an annualized rate of 0.6% in February after a 0.1% gain in January, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.4% rise.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) added 0.04% and 0.10%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) slipped 0.28% and Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) climbed 0.51%.
Among peripheral lenders, Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) dipped 0.04% and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) rose 0.25% in Italy, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) gained 0.27% and 0.47% respectively.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.26%, weighed by losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) dropped 0.60% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) tumbled 1.36%, while rival company Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) plummeted 2.24%.
Tesco (LONDON:TSCO) Plc added to losses, with shares down 1.65% following reports the retailer is set to announce an impairment charge of £3 billion when it reports results on April 22.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mostly higher. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) edged up 0.08% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) added 0.19%, while shares in HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) rallied 1.21%. Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) underperformed on the other hand, sliding 0.49%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.13% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.15% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.04% dip.