European stocks sharply lower amid security concerns; Dax tumbles 1.02%

Source : Investing.com - European stocks were sharply lower on Tuesday, as security concerns continued to weigh on market sentiment and as investors eyed an upcoming report on Germany's business climate, due later in the trading session. During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 lost 1.39%, France’s CAC 40 plummeted 1.50%, while Germany’s DAX 30 tumbled 1.02%. Markets were jittery as Belgium remained on lockdown for a fourth consecutive day amid a continuing nationwide manhunt for a key suspect, Salah Abdeslam, in the Paris terrorist attacks 11 days ago. Separately, the U.S. State Department issued a global travel alert for U.S. citizens on Monday, citing increased terrorist threats. Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) dropped 0.89% and 0.92%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) slid 0.38% and 0.88%. Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) lost 0.55% and 1.02% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) declined 0.59% and 0.66%. Elsewhere, Altice NV (AS:ATCA) plunged 6.80% after Goldman Sachs Group Inc (N:GS). said it is selling about 61 million of the French company’s A-shares. On the upside, shares in Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) AG rallied 2.53% after the carmaker won approval to repair most of its rigged European diesel engines. In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.88%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) and Lloyds Banking (L:LLOY) dropped 0.82% and 0.93% respectively, while HSBC Holdings (L:HSBA) lost 1.05% and Barclays (L:BARC) tumbled 1.54%. Kingfisher (L:KGF) Plc added to losses, with shares down 0.41% after the retailer reported third-quarter earnings that missed analysts' projections. Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Glencore (L:GLEN) climbed 0.45% and Randgold Resources (L:RRS) jumped 1.14%, while Anglo American (L:AAL) rallied 1.86%. In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.24% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.29% slide, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.28% loss.