Investing.com – European stocks were turned sharply lower on Monday, amid concerns over the outlook for economic growth in the region while U.S. futures indices pointed to a lower open on Wall Street.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 plunged 1.15%; France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.13% and Germany's DAX fell 1.08%.
Auto-makers led shares lower as shares in Germany's BMW tumbled 2.57%, Peugeot shares dropped 2.40% while shares in Italian tire makers Pirelli fell 1.76%.
In the financial sector, lenders were mixed as shares in Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS gained 0.89% and 0.53% respectively after they said they would be able to meet tough new proposals from Switzerland on capital requirements.
But shares in Allied Irish Bank plunged 5.06% after regulators said it would need to raise more capital, which could result in the Irish government holding a majority stake in the bank.
In deals news, shares in French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis fell 0.68% after the company launched a hostile takeover bid for biotechnology group Genzyme. Sanofi met directly with Genzyme's shareholders after management refused to negotiate.
In London, the commodity heavy FTSE 100 was down 0.55% as oil giant BP saw shares drop 2.22% and Cairn Energy shares tumbled 2.10% as crude oil and metal prices retreated.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was downbeat: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a fall of 0.41%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a drop of 0.51% and Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a decline of 0.55%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on pending home sales while Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke was to make a speech.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 plunged 1.15%; France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.13% and Germany's DAX fell 1.08%.
Auto-makers led shares lower as shares in Germany's BMW tumbled 2.57%, Peugeot shares dropped 2.40% while shares in Italian tire makers Pirelli fell 1.76%.
In the financial sector, lenders were mixed as shares in Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS gained 0.89% and 0.53% respectively after they said they would be able to meet tough new proposals from Switzerland on capital requirements.
But shares in Allied Irish Bank plunged 5.06% after regulators said it would need to raise more capital, which could result in the Irish government holding a majority stake in the bank.
In deals news, shares in French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis fell 0.68% after the company launched a hostile takeover bid for biotechnology group Genzyme. Sanofi met directly with Genzyme's shareholders after management refused to negotiate.
In London, the commodity heavy FTSE 100 was down 0.55% as oil giant BP saw shares drop 2.22% and Cairn Energy shares tumbled 2.10% as crude oil and metal prices retreated.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was downbeat: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a fall of 0.41%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a drop of 0.51% and Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a decline of 0.55%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on pending home sales while Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke was to make a speech.