Investing.com – European stocks traded lower on Monday, following the global trend as investors fretted that U.S. President Donald Trump’s failure to gather enough support to repeal and replace health care was an indicator of troubles he may have in the future with other promised fiscal policies, such as tax reform or infrastructure spending.
Nearing midday trade in Europe, the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.53%, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.46% and Germany’s DAX 30 traded down 0.84%.
Asian stocks closed lower earlier, while U.S. futures pointed to a lower open.
Safe-haven assets such as the Japanese yen, and precious metals, were in demand, as the U.S. dollar takes a hit.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last down 0.61% at 98.98 by 5:30AM ET (9:30GMT).
Against the yen, the dollar dropped about 1% to its lowest level since November, while the euro hit its highest level against the greenback since December.
At the same time, gold prices rallied to a four-week high during European morning hours thanks to the weak dollar which makes the precious metal “cheaper” for buyers using other currencies.
On the economic front, German business confidence improved to the highest level since June 2011, but the upbeat surprise in the euro zone’s largest economy was insufficient to spur risk appetite.
Meanwhile, oil prices struggled near the lowest level since the end of November on Monday, as rising U.S. shale production continued to feed concerns about a global supply glut.
Energy stocks traded broadly lower, as French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) lost 0.10% and Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) fell 0.27%, and Norwegian rival Statoil (OL:STL) was down 0.49%.
Financial stocks were hit by risk off sentiment, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) traded down 0.94% and 1.54%, respectively, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and rival Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) slumped 1.65% and 1.03%, respectively.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) fell 0.55% and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) sank 2.15%, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) traded down 1.14% and 1.07%, respectively.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.74%, pressures by losses in mining stocks.
Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) sank 2.74%, Anglo American (LON:AAL) lost 1.84%, while BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) slumped 2.53% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) traded down 1.49%.
Energy stocks moved lower, as BP (LON:BP) fell 0.63% and rival Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) gave up 0.55%.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, with shares in HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) down 0.77% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) fell 1.21%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) traded down 1.70% and 2.28% respectively.
In the U.S., futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 0.49%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.65%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures traded down 0.57%.