Investing.com - European stocks edged higher on Tuesday, as markets eyed the release of German business climate data later in the trading session, although Monday's economic reports continued to weigh.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 edged up 0.11%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.26%, while Germany’s DAX added 0.09%.
European equities came under pressure on Monday after data showed that the euro zone’s composite index of service and manufacturing sector activity fell to a six month low of 52.8 in June from 53.5 in May, indicating that the recovery in the region could be losing momentum.
France’s private sector continued to contract this month, dragging on the euro zone as a whole, while Germany private sector continued to expand this month, but at a slower than forecast rate.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) rose 0.29% and 0.75%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) slipped 0.16%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) slid 0.30% and 0.42% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) gained 0.32% and 0.65%.
Elsewhere, Altice plummeted 4.68% after saying that it is selling about €950 million of new stock to help fund its stake increase in Numericable Group and cut debt.
In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.18%, supported by gains in the financial sector.
Shares in HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) inched up 0.05% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) edged up 0.15%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) added 0.23%. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) underperformed however, down 0.12%.
Shire (LONDON:SHP) added to gains, climbing 0.93%, following reports the company hired Goldman Sachs as it faces potential takeover offers. Last week, Shire was said to have turned down a $46 billion bid from AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV).
Imagination Technologies Group (LONDON:IMG) was also on the upside, as shares surged 7.11%, after forecasting a high level of licensing activity for the full year.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed, as Vedanta Resources (LONDON:VED) dropped 0.52% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) tumbled 0.97%, while Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) edged up 0.14% and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) gained 0.46%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.01% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% downtick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.01% gain.
Later in the day, the Ifo Institute was to publish data on German business climate, while the U.S. was to release private sector data on consumer confidence, as well as a report on new home sales.