Investing.com - European stocks opened lower on Monday, as geopolitical tensions continued to weigh on market sentiment, dampening demand for risk-related assets such as equities.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.68%, France’s CAC 40 slumped 0.63%, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 0.52%.
Investors remained cautious after a terrorist attack last Thursday in Barcelona killed 14 people and injured 100 others.
Spanish police was still searching on Sunday for the man behind the wheel in the Barcelona van attack, amid growing signs members of the militant group had connections elsewhere in Europe.
Separately, North Korea warned Sunday that joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises set to start Monday will be "adding fuel to the fire" of already heightened tensions with Washington and its allies.
Political tensions in the U.S. also remained in focus, following reports on Friday that senior White House advisor Steven Bannon had been fired.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) tumbled 1.39% and 1.04%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) slid 0.23% and 0.33%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) declined 0.41% and 1.97% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) dropped 0.51% and 0.27%.
Elsewhere, Siemens AG ADR (F:SIy) saw shares retreat 0.59% a Moscow court rejected the company’s request to seize its gas turbines, which have turned up in Crimea contrary to EU sanctions, and to ban their installation ahead of preliminary hearings next month.
The ruling responded to a lawsuit filed by the German engineering firm against a Russian state firm in July after four turbines which it had sold for use in Russia turned up in the Moscow-annexed region.
In London, FTSE 100 slid 0.29%, led by the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS), whose shares plummeted 1.40%.
Other U.K. lenders were also on the downside, as Barclays (LON:BARC) lost 1% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) dropped 0.53%, while Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) edged down 0.17%.
British Land Company PLC (LON:BLND) shares lost 1.15% after analysts at Liberum Capital reaffirmed their hold rating on the stock.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) climbed 0.70% and Anglo American (LON:AAL) jumped 1.13%, while BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) rallied 1.15% and 1.27% respectively.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:HIK) was one of the top performers on the FTSE 100 after the drugmaker sharply increased the price of a string of medicines in the U.S. by as much as 430%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.20% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.27% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.33% slide.