Investing.com - European stock markets fell on Monday, as sustained concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone and the expected failure of a U.S. congressional committee to agree on how to slash the deficit weighed on investor confidence.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 2.31%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 2.25%, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 2.55%.
Spain’s center-right opposition People's Party won a crushing election victory on
Sunday, and was expected to push through drastic austerity measures to try shore up the country’s economy.
But investors remained uncertain over the ability of policymakers to bring down the borrowing costs of many euro-zone governments from current elevated levels.
Meanwhile, a U.S. congressional "super committee" was expected to formally announce on Monday the failure of its three-month-long effort to forge a USD1.2 trillion deficit reduction plan.
Financial stocks led losses as shares in France’s Societe Generale plunged 3.42% and BNP Paribas tumbled 2.84%, while German lender Deutsche Bank plummeted 2.71%.
Peripheral banks also contributed to losses with Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo dropping 1.56% and Unicredit declining 0.46%, while Spanish lenders BBVA and Banco Santander fell 1.05% and 0.93% respectively.
Elsewhere, Carrefour slipped 1.74% after the retailer’s largest shareholders were said to consider replacing its chairman and chief executive officer.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 plunged 1.79% as miners were among Monday’s top losers.
Copper producer Xstrata saw shares dive 3.88%, closely followed by Kazakhmys, plummeting 3.36%.
Meanwhile, mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton declined 2.63% and 2.82%, while British Petroleum dropped 1.86%.
The financial sector was also sharply lower as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland plunged 3.11% and Barclays dove 3.02%, while Anglo American and HSBC Holdings tumbled 3.04% and 2.24% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a sharply lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 1.23%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 1.51% plunge, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 1.07% drop.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on existing home sales.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 2.31%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 2.25%, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 2.55%.
Spain’s center-right opposition People's Party won a crushing election victory on
Sunday, and was expected to push through drastic austerity measures to try shore up the country’s economy.
But investors remained uncertain over the ability of policymakers to bring down the borrowing costs of many euro-zone governments from current elevated levels.
Meanwhile, a U.S. congressional "super committee" was expected to formally announce on Monday the failure of its three-month-long effort to forge a USD1.2 trillion deficit reduction plan.
Financial stocks led losses as shares in France’s Societe Generale plunged 3.42% and BNP Paribas tumbled 2.84%, while German lender Deutsche Bank plummeted 2.71%.
Peripheral banks also contributed to losses with Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo dropping 1.56% and Unicredit declining 0.46%, while Spanish lenders BBVA and Banco Santander fell 1.05% and 0.93% respectively.
Elsewhere, Carrefour slipped 1.74% after the retailer’s largest shareholders were said to consider replacing its chairman and chief executive officer.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 plunged 1.79% as miners were among Monday’s top losers.
Copper producer Xstrata saw shares dive 3.88%, closely followed by Kazakhmys, plummeting 3.36%.
Meanwhile, mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton declined 2.63% and 2.82%, while British Petroleum dropped 1.86%.
The financial sector was also sharply lower as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland plunged 3.11% and Barclays dove 3.02%, while Anglo American and HSBC Holdings tumbled 3.04% and 2.24% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a sharply lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 1.23%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 1.51% plunge, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 1.07% drop.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on existing home sales.