Investing.com - European stocks were little changed on Tuesday, as investors focused on a new round of earnings reports and as lower-than-expected exports and imports figures in China weighed.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 inched 0.01% lower, France’s CAC 40 eased 0.05%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dipped 0.05%.
Data earlier showed that Chinese exports increased by 7.2% in July and imports climbed 11.0%. Both readings were below analysts’ projections.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) lost 0.06% and 0.55%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) retreated 0.21% and 0.90%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) slid 0.33% and 0.27% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) dipped 0.01% and 0.03%.
Elsewhere, Merck KGaA (DE:MRCG) saw shares drop 0.56% after the German drugmaker reported 11.67% decline in second-quarter net profit.
On the upside, Siemens AG (DE:SIEGn) Class N (AS:SIEG) rose 0.22% after the industrial group announced plans to update software in some of its medical scanners by the end of the month.
The move is said to deal with vulnerabilities that could allow some of this equipment to be hacked.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 eased 0.07%, weighed by a 4.14% slump in Paddy Power Betfair PLC (LON:PPB) after the company said revenues declined in the second quarter due to unfavourable sporting results and the lack of a major international football tournament.
The betting company had already made headlines on Tuesday, when it announced that chief executive Breon Corcoran will be stepping down after 16 years of service.
Also on the downside, Worldpay slipped 0.21% following news it has until August 11 to make an offer for Vantiv Inc. or say that it doesn't want to make an offer.
Mining stocks were also broadly lower on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) slid 0.48% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) declined 0.75%, while rival company Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) retreated 0.82%.
Meanwhile, shares in Bellway (LON:BWY) climbed 0.50% after the housebuilder said on Tuesday that it sees its fiscal 2017 revenue up by 13% from the previous year, thanks to higher home volume growth.
In the financial sector, stocks were mostly higher as Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) and Barclays (LON:BARC) rose 0.20% and .21% respectively, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) advanced 0.78%. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) underperformed however, with shares shedding 0.27%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% uptick, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.06% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.02% gain.