Investing.com - European stocks were lower after the open on Tuesday, as appetite for riskier assets weakened after Moody’s stripped France of its prized AAA credit rating.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 shed 0.5%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.6%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dipped 0.2%.
Ratings agency Moody’s downgraded France’s AAA-rating by one notch to AA1 late Monday and kept a negative outlook on the rating, citing weakening growth prospects for the euro zone’s second-largest economy.
The downgrade followed a similar move by Standard & Poor’s several months ago, leaving Fitch Ratings as the only ratings firm to keep France at triple-A.
Investors now looked ahead to of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later in the day in Brussels to discuss whether Greece can receive its next installment of bailout funds.
Finland's finance minister said earlier she was unsure whether euro zone finance ministers would approve Greece's next loan tranche at Tuesday’s meeting.
Shares in the financial sector were broadly lower, with France’s BNP Paribas and Societe Generale down 1.4% and 1.5% respectively, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank fell 1.5% apiece.
Peripheral lenders were also under pressure, with Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo retreating 1.9% and Spain’s BBVA shedding 0.9%.
Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse lost 2.9% after saying it would reorganize its business to form a new wealth-management division.
Elsewhere, in London, the FTSE 100 slumped 0.3%, weighed down by losses in lenders and raw material producers.
HSBC shares declined 1.1%, Royal Bank of Scotland dipped 1% and Barclays shed 0.45%.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.4% at the open, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.3% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.35% drop.
Investors continued to monitor developments surrounding the looming “fiscal cliff” in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1.
U.S. markets rallied on Monday after U.S. Congressional leaders said talks with President Barack Obama on Friday to avert the fiscal crisis were "constructive."
There are fears the U.S. economy will fall back into a recession, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise in the six weeks left before the January 1 deadline.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on building permits and housing starts, while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak at an event in New York.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 shed 0.5%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.6%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dipped 0.2%.
Ratings agency Moody’s downgraded France’s AAA-rating by one notch to AA1 late Monday and kept a negative outlook on the rating, citing weakening growth prospects for the euro zone’s second-largest economy.
The downgrade followed a similar move by Standard & Poor’s several months ago, leaving Fitch Ratings as the only ratings firm to keep France at triple-A.
Investors now looked ahead to of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later in the day in Brussels to discuss whether Greece can receive its next installment of bailout funds.
Finland's finance minister said earlier she was unsure whether euro zone finance ministers would approve Greece's next loan tranche at Tuesday’s meeting.
Shares in the financial sector were broadly lower, with France’s BNP Paribas and Societe Generale down 1.4% and 1.5% respectively, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank fell 1.5% apiece.
Peripheral lenders were also under pressure, with Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo retreating 1.9% and Spain’s BBVA shedding 0.9%.
Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse lost 2.9% after saying it would reorganize its business to form a new wealth-management division.
Elsewhere, in London, the FTSE 100 slumped 0.3%, weighed down by losses in lenders and raw material producers.
HSBC shares declined 1.1%, Royal Bank of Scotland dipped 1% and Barclays shed 0.45%.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.4% at the open, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.3% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.35% drop.
Investors continued to monitor developments surrounding the looming “fiscal cliff” in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1.
U.S. markets rallied on Monday after U.S. Congressional leaders said talks with President Barack Obama on Friday to avert the fiscal crisis were "constructive."
There are fears the U.S. economy will fall back into a recession, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise in the six weeks left before the January 1 deadline.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on building permits and housing starts, while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak at an event in New York.