Investing.com - European markets opened lower on Friday, as sustained uncertainty in the U.S. over a major tax reform bill carried over to Europe, although hopes for progress in German coalition talks lent some support.
The EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.38%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.18%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was down 0.19% by 03:35 a.m. ET (07:35 GMT).
Markets were jittery after the U.S. Senate on Thursday evening delayed a vote on the tax reform bill until Friday as a key element of the bill still needed to be debated.
However, the bill was seen like more likely to pass following an endorsement by Senator John McCain.
But European equities found some support amid hopes of progress on the German political front after Chancellor Angela Merkel's party held talks late Thursday with centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) to facilitate the formation of a government coalition.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) declined 0.17% and 0.44%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) retreated 0.47%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) slid 0.35%, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) fell 0.28% and 0.33% respectively.
On the upside, Bayer AG (DE:BAYGN) saw shares rally 1.04% after the German group said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. cleared its planned takeover of Monsanto (NYSE:MON) Co.
Energy-related stocks added to gains after the world's major oil producers agreed on Thursday to extend production cuts until the end of 2018.
French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) saw shares climb 0.62%, while Italy's ENI (MI:ENI) advanced 0.58% and Norwegian rival Statoil (OL:STL) gained 0.48%.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 edged up 0.10%, helped by gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) rose 0.34% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) gained 0.37%, while rival group Anglo American (LON:AAL) jumped 1.44%.
Oil and gas major BP (LON:BP) was also on the upside, with shares climbing 0.53%, while Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) jumped 0.80%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were broadly lower as HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) slipped 0.26% the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) lost 1.05%, while Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) and Barclays (LON:BARC) tumbled 1.08% and 1.23% respectively.
Shares in BT Group (LON:BT) declined 1.19% after analysts at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) said the stock "looks cheap" on a sum-of-the-parts valuation and reaffirmed their 'equal-weight' rating.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a mixed open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% uptick, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.15% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.08% loss.