(MENAFN- AFP) Europe's main stock markets slipped back on Tuesday following strong gains on Monday, with sentiment hit by weak German data that dragged the euro down as well.
In afternoon trading, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index stood at 6,631.07 points, a mere 0.03 percent below where it closed on Monday.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 fell 0.86 percent to 9,102.12 points and in Paris the CAC 40 slid 0.64 percent to 4,170.94.
Investment sentiment in Germany fell to the lowest level for nearly two years in August owing to concern about economic fallout from the current global crises, a survey found.
The widely watched investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute fell 18.5 points to 8.6 points in August, its lowest level since December 2012, a ZEW statement said.
"The disappointing showing in some European indices today can partially be attributed to some profit taking following the strong start to the week, while the disappointing ZEW figures will also be contributing to the decline," remarked Craig Erlam market analyst at Alpari traders.
"Expectations were quite low ahead of the release, which is perfectly understandable given the impact we've already seen on a number of data releases from the crisis in the Ukraine."
When trading began in New York, US stocks joined the downward trend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.07 percent to 16,557.69 points, the broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.12 percent to 1,934.65 and the the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 0.11 percent to 4,396.53.
European indices had rallied on Monday, with Frankfurt gaining almost 2.0 percent on easing worries over conflicts in Gaza, Iraq and Ukraine.
"Much has been made of the rising geopolitical risk recently with conflicts in the Ukraine, Iraq and Gaza ongoing, although the latter has eased up a little thanks to the latest agreed ceasefire not yet being broken," said Erlam.
On Tuesday, Palestinian and Israeli delegations were to resume "gruelling" negotiations in Cairo aimed at ending the Gaza conflict as Egyptian mediators raced to narrow gaps between the warring sides.
The fighting since early July has claimed the lives of 1,940 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 67 people on the Israeli side, most of them soldiers.
In foreign exchange trading, the euro fell to $1.3356 from $1.3385 late in New York on Monday.
The European single currency dropped to 79.55 pence from 79.73 pence on Monday. The pound was stable against the dollar at $1.6787.
Ukraine's national currency, the hryvnia, hit a record low of 13.14 to the dollar as fighting in the east hammers the economy.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold grew to $1,311 an ounce from $1,307.25 on Monday.
British insurer Prudential was one of the strongest risers on the London FTSE 100 index - its share price rising 1.61 percent to 1,360.50 pence after the company announced bumper half-year profits.
Asian stock markets had closed mostly higher earlier in the day after tracking European and US gains on Monday.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.