Investing.com - European stocks slipped lower on Wednesday, as markets were jittery after Greece reached an agreement with its creditors for a third bailout deal as conditions were still to be approved by Greece's parliament.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.21%, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.19%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.29%.
Sentiment had found support after euro zone leaders reached a unanimous agreement on a third bailout deal for Greece on Monday, following marathon weekend-long talks.
But investors remained cautious as Greece's government on Tuesday submitted the bailout terms demanded by eurozone creditors to parliament and as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras battled for support for the reforms from his ruling anti-austerity Syriza party.
Four pieces of legislation must be passed by the end of the day on Wednesday, including pension and sales tax reforms.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) rose 0.07% and 0.34%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) gained 0.55% and 1.05%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) added 0.08% and 0.73% respectively. Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) underperformed however, sliding 0.27% and 0.30%.
Elsewhere, ASML Holding (AMS:ASML) NV rallied 1.92% after the Dutch company said that the upper end of its third-quarter sales forecast beat analysts’ estimates.
In London, FTSE 100 slid 0.34%, led by Burberry Group (LONDON:BRBY), whose shares plummeted 2.22% even after the luxury-goods maker reported a 10% increase in first-quarter sales, helped by strong demand in Europe.
Financial stocks were also on the downside, as Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) eased 0.07% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) fell 0.20%, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) dropped 0.57% and 0.74% respectively.
Vodafone Group (LONDON:VOD) Plc tumbled 1.07% after Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) cut its rating on the stock to "neutral".
In the mining sector, stocks were mixed. Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) inched up 0.04% and Anglo American (LONDON:AAL) jumped 1.28%, while rivals Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) lost 0.21% and 0.32% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.05% uptick, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.09% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.10% rise.