Investing.com - European markets opened lower on Tuesday, as fresh tensions between the U.S. and North Korea weighed on sentiment and as investors were still evaluating the consequences of Sunday's elections in Germany.
The EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.12%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.11%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was down 0.16% by 03:35 a.m. ET (07:35 GMT).
Sentiment weakened after North Korea's foreign minister Ri Yong Ho said on Monday that President Donald Trump had declared war on the country and that Pyongyang reserved the right to shoot down U.S. bombers, even if they are not in its air space.
Market participants were also still digesting the fact that Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term in office on Sunday but will have to build a coalition to form a government as Conservatives lost support in the face of a surge by the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) edged up 0.14% and 0.15%, while Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) rose 0.26% and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) dipped 0.06%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) added 0.11% and 0.20% respectively, while Banco Santander (MC:SAN) slipped 0.28% and BBVA (MC:BBVA) inched up 0.07% in Spain.
Elsewhere, Siemens AG (DE:SIEGn) dropped 0.73% amid reports the German company is set to choose French rival Alstom (PA:ALSO) for a rail merger.
Thyssenkrupp AG O.N. (DE:TKAG) added to losses, with shares down 1.22% after the German industrial group said it plans to increase its capital by 10% in a sale of new shares to bolster its balance sheet ahead of a planned deal with India’s Tata Steel.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slipped 0.24%, weighed by WPP (LON:WPP), whose shares plummeted 1.97% after the advertising giant said the NotPetya attack cost up to £15 million.
WPP was one of many companies hit in June 2017 by malware distributed through Ukrainian accounting software.
Carnival (LON:CCL) was also on the downside, as shares tumbled 1.86%. The company said on Monday that it is launching OceanView, the world's first digital streaming channel from a travel provider.
The service will be completely free to access on land and at sea and will feature a mix of travel content for viewers around the world.
Meanwhile, Mediclinic International PLC (LON:MDCM) was one of the best performers on the index, with shares up 1.47%. The stock was recovering from sharp losses posted in the previous session amid worries over a slowdownin its United Arab Emirates business.
Mining stocks added to gains on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Fresnillo (LON:FRES) advanced 0.83% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) jumped 1.12%, while rival company Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) rallied 1.49%.
In the financial sector, stocks were mostly lower, as the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) edged down 0.17% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) slid 0.30%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) declined 0.37%. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) was steady, up only 0.01%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.08% slip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.10% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.07% dip.