Investing.com - European markets opened mostly lower on Monday, as investors were focusing on a fresh batch of corporate earnings reports.
The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.27%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.21%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was down 0.14% by 04:30 a.m. ET (08:30 GMT).
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) tumbled 1.35% and 1.94%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) dropped 0.77% and 1.23%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) lost 0.28% and 0.92% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) declined 0.68% slid 2.24%.
Elsewhere, Detusche Telekom saw shares plummet 3.37% following news on Saturday that the majority owner of Sprint Corp said merger talks with T-Mobile US had ended.
“T-Mobile US, of which Deutsche Telekom (DE:DTEGn) holds 64% of the shares, plans to continue its successful growth strategy,” the German company said in a statement.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 inched up 0.01%, helped by sharp gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) advanced 0.70% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) jumped 1.52%, while Anglo American (LON:AAL) and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) rallied 1.95% and 2%.
GKN (LON:GKN) added to gains, with shares up 1.57% after analysts at Peel Hunt reiterated their “buy” rating on the stock.
In the financial sector, stocks were broadly lower. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) fell 0.26% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) declined 0.75%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) plummeted 1.64%. Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) overperformed, with shares inching up 0.06%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.06% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.05% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.01% downtick.