Investing.com - European stocks slipped lower on Monday, as markets were jittery ahead of a fresh emergency meeting on Greece's debt due to take place later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged down 0.18%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.01%, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased 0.09%.
Officials from Greece and the European Union were due to hold fresh talks on Monday after a meeting on a new debt deal last week ended without an agreement.
Greece’s current €240 billion bailout is due to expire on February 28 and the new Greek government does not want it extended, fuelling fears over a conflict with its creditors which could trigger the country’s exit from the euro zone.
European equities had found support on Friday after data showed that Germany’s economy, the euro zones largest, grew 0.7% in the fourth quarter, more than double the 0.3% forecast by economists.
The euro zone economy expanded by a larger-than-expected 0.3% in the three months to December, but Greece’s economy contracted 0.2% in the same period.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale rose 0.39% and 0.59%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank rallied 1.27% and 0.91%.
Among peripheral lenders however, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit dropped 0.53% and 1.13% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA slipped 0.24% and 0.28%.
Elsewhere, Altice SA (AMS:ATCE) surged 3.81% amid reports the telecom company is stepping up plans for a potential takeover of mobile carrier Bouygues, whose shares were up 2.27%.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.14%, weighed by losses in the energy sector.
Shares in oil and gas major BP Plc (LONDON:BP) slid 0.37%, while Petrofac plummeted 2.56%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed as Bhp Billiton gained 0.42% and Glencore Xstrata jumped 1.42%, while Randgold Resources slipped 0.20% and Fresnillo lost 2.56%.
In the financial sector, stocks were also mixed. Barclays fell 0.28% and the Royal Bank of Scotland saw shares decline 0.64%, while Lloyds Banking and HSBC Holdings gained 0.28% and 0.45% respectively.
SABMiller led gains on the index, rallying 2.36% following news a consortium led by 3G Capital Partners is considering a bid for the brewer.
In the U.S., markets were to remain closed for the Presidents' Day Holiday.