Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Monday, after China's finance minister crushed expectatons for further stimulus measures, while concerns over the outlook for growth in the euro zone also weighed.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 slid 0.49%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.36%, while Germany’s DAX shed 0.32%.
Sentiment weakened after China’s Finance Minister Lou Jiwei reiterated that his government will not make any major policy adjustments, dampening speculation that weaker economic data will spur further stimulus in the world'ss second biggest economy.
European equities also came under pressure after finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of 20 warned that Europe's extended slowdown remains a major concern.
G20 members met over the weekend in the Australian city of Cairns to deliver their outlook on the global economy.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) added 0.15% and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) slipped 0.28%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) edged up 0.08%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) fell 0.28% and 0.29% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) lost 0.09% and 0.70%.
Elsewhere, Siemens (AMS:SIEG) retreated 0.70% after the engineering company agreed to buy Dresser-Rand Group (NYSE:DRC) for $7.6 billion.
On the upside, Cermaq (OSLO:CEQ) soared 15.98% after Mitsubishi (TOKYO:8058) offered to buy the Norwegian fishing company for 8.88 billion kroner.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dropped 0.55%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) plummeted 2.09% and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) lost 2.78%, while rivals Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) plunged 2.94% and 3.06% respectively.
Tesco (LONDON:TSCO) led losses on the index, down 7.84%, after the U.K.'s biggest grocer said it overstated its guidance for first-half earnings by about |£250 million.
In the financial sector, stocks were also mostly lower. HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) saw shares slump 0.40% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) declined 0.62%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) retreated 0.88%. Barclays (LONDON:BARC) overperformed however, gaining 0.32%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.32% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.53% decline, while the NASDAQ 100 futures indicated a 0.59% loss.