Investing.com - European stock markets were lower on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious after Germany's finance minister dampened hopes of a new plan to handle the debt crisis in the euro zone.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 1.29%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.87%, while Germany’s DAX 30 shed 0.59%.
Market sentiment was hit on Monday, after German finance minister said that the next European summit scheduled on October 23 would not result in a definitive solution to the financial crisis in the single currency bloc.
Investor confidence also weakened after Moody's Investors Service put France on three months notice that "pressure from weaker debt metrics," could leave the country with a negative credit outlook and could result in a downgrade.
French lenders led losses after the news, with shares in BNP Paribas sinking 6.46%, Societe Generale plummeting 3.52% and Credit Agricole dropping 2.87%. Germany's Deutsche Bank saw shares fall 1.19%.
Meanwhile, troubled lender Dexia plunged 12.63% to 50.5 euro cents, the lowest level on record, after the European Commission opened an in-depth probe into Belgium’s takeover of Dexia’s local consumer-lending unit.
Energy companies were also on the downside, after data revealed a slowdown in Chinese growth. France's GDF Suez dropped 4.30% and Total fell 1.38%, while German firm RWE AG tumbled 2.06% and Spain's Inderbrola fell 1.21%.
Elsewhere, shares in Air France-KLM dropped 5.17% after the company announced late Monday that its Chief Executive Officer Pierre-Henri Gourgeon has resigned as the company said it wanted to "improve the group’s operating and financial performance in a context of economic uncertainties affecting the European air traffic."
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 declined 1.10%, tracking losses European energy stocks and commodity prices.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton plummeted 3.63% and 2.16% respectively. Meanwhile, British Petroleum was among the top gainers with shares rising 1.48%.
Copper producers also contributed to losses with shares in Kazakhmys and Xstrata rising 1.89% and 2.54%.
U.K. lenders shadowed their European counterparts, as shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland eased down 0.66% and Lloyds Banking shed 0.56%, while HSBC Holdings and Barclays declined 1.47% and 2.74% respectively.
Elsewhere, U.S. equity markets pointed to a mixed open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.28%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.20% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.29% rise.
Also Tuesday, the ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiment fell to its lowest level since November 2008, falling to minus 48.3 October from a reading of minus 43.3 in September.
Analysts had expected the index to decline to minus 45.0 in October.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 1.29%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.87%, while Germany’s DAX 30 shed 0.59%.
Market sentiment was hit on Monday, after German finance minister said that the next European summit scheduled on October 23 would not result in a definitive solution to the financial crisis in the single currency bloc.
Investor confidence also weakened after Moody's Investors Service put France on three months notice that "pressure from weaker debt metrics," could leave the country with a negative credit outlook and could result in a downgrade.
French lenders led losses after the news, with shares in BNP Paribas sinking 6.46%, Societe Generale plummeting 3.52% and Credit Agricole dropping 2.87%. Germany's Deutsche Bank saw shares fall 1.19%.
Meanwhile, troubled lender Dexia plunged 12.63% to 50.5 euro cents, the lowest level on record, after the European Commission opened an in-depth probe into Belgium’s takeover of Dexia’s local consumer-lending unit.
Energy companies were also on the downside, after data revealed a slowdown in Chinese growth. France's GDF Suez dropped 4.30% and Total fell 1.38%, while German firm RWE AG tumbled 2.06% and Spain's Inderbrola fell 1.21%.
Elsewhere, shares in Air France-KLM dropped 5.17% after the company announced late Monday that its Chief Executive Officer Pierre-Henri Gourgeon has resigned as the company said it wanted to "improve the group’s operating and financial performance in a context of economic uncertainties affecting the European air traffic."
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 declined 1.10%, tracking losses European energy stocks and commodity prices.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton plummeted 3.63% and 2.16% respectively. Meanwhile, British Petroleum was among the top gainers with shares rising 1.48%.
Copper producers also contributed to losses with shares in Kazakhmys and Xstrata rising 1.89% and 2.54%.
U.K. lenders shadowed their European counterparts, as shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland eased down 0.66% and Lloyds Banking shed 0.56%, while HSBC Holdings and Barclays declined 1.47% and 2.74% respectively.
Elsewhere, U.S. equity markets pointed to a mixed open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.28%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.20% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.29% rise.
Also Tuesday, the ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiment fell to its lowest level since November 2008, falling to minus 48.3 October from a reading of minus 43.3 in September.
Analysts had expected the index to decline to minus 45.0 in October.