Investing.com - European stocks opened lower on Thursday, as recent political developments in the U.S. continued to weigh heavily on market sentiment.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.15%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.14%.
Global equities tumbled following reports on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to end the agency's investigation into ties between former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia.
Investors were already cautious after news that Trump shared sensitive intelligence with Russia's foreign minister in a meeting last week.
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed on Wednesday by the Justice Department as a special counsel to take over the probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) lost 0.15% and 1.08%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) declined 0.61%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) slid 0.38%, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) dropped 0.49% and 2.82% respectively.
Elsewhere, Merck (NYSE:MRK) saw shares decline 0.45% even after the German drugmaker reported better-than-expected results for the first three months of the year.
In London, FTSE 100 fell 0.37%, weighed by Hargreaves Lansdown (LON:HRGV), whose shares plummeted 2.38% even as the company reported a 10% rise in assets under administration in the four months to 30 April.
Mining stocks were also broadly lower on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Fresnillo (LON:FRES) fell 0.25% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) declined 0.62%, while Glencore (LON:GLEN) dropped 0.76%.
Thomas Cook Group Plc (LON:TCG) saw shares ease 0.09% after the tour operator reported a rise in revenue for the first-quarter, in line with expectations. The company added that it was expecting strong demand for a number of southern European destinations over the summer season.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mixed as Barclays (LON:BARC) slumped 0.69% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) tumbled 1.45%, while Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) rose 0.27% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) gained 0.31%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.09% rise, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.21% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.28% increase.