Forexpros – European stocks were broadly lower on Monday, as risk aversion escalated after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said disagreements in the euro zone were undermining the future of the currency bloc.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 was down 0.24%, France’s CAC 40 was down 0.43%, while Germany’s DAX 30 inched up 0.03%.
In an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, Monti said tensions within the eiro zone” bear the traits of a psychological dissolution of Europe,” and added that Europe “must work hard to contain it.”
Overall market sentiment remained supported after the European Central Bank indicated Thursday that it may restart its bond buying program, to help lower Spanish and Italian borrowing costs.
But investors remained wary amid concerns over how effective the ECB’s new bond buying program would be, in the light of differences from the bank’s existing scheme.
Financial stocks were mixed, with shares in France’s Societe Generale and BNP Paribas up 0.49% and 2.59%, while German lenders Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank were down 0.79% and 0.02% respectively.
Peripheral lenders were also mixed, with Italian Unicredit down 1.43% and Intesa Sanpaolo losing 0.53% respectively. Spain’s Banco Santander was down 0.60% while counterpart BBVA was up 0.21%.
In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.27%, led lower by declines the financial sector.
Shares in HSBC Holdings and Lloyds Banking lost 1.18% and 0.62% respectively, while Barclays dipped 0.04%.
Trade was choppy in the energy sector, with mining giants BHP Billiton dipping 0.07%, and Rio Tinto rising 0.91%, while copper producers Xstrata lost 0.42% and rivals Kazakhmys were up 0.48%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a broadly higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 1.69% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.06% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.25% gain.
Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak; his comments would be closely watched by investors.
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