European stocks fall as market sentiment wanes; DAX down 0.26%

Investing.com - European stocks opened lower on Friday, as euro zone meetings continued amid renewed concerns over the outlook for global economic growth, while the possibility for fresh stimulus measures by the Federal Reserve became uncertain.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.34%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.40%, while Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.26%.

Investors eyed ongoing talks in the euro zone, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said earlier that she and French President Francois Hollande will maintain the pressure on Greece to overhaul its economy at meetings with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Berlin, later Friday and on Saturday.

The comments came a day after data showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone rose more-than-expected in August, but remained in contraction territory for the 12th consecutive month, while service sector activity slumped to a two-month low.

A separate report showed that manufacturing activity in China slumped to a nine-month low in August, adding to concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.

Meanwhile, market participants remained cautious over whether the Fed will soon turn to fresh easing measures, after a string of  U.S. data on Thursday painted a mixed picture of the strength of the country's economic recovery.

Financial stocks were broadly lower, led by Dutch lender ING Group, down 1.72%, while France's BNP Paribas and Societe Generale tumbled 1.15% and 1.16% respectively.

German lenders also contributed to losses, with shares in Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank declining 0.55% and 0.40%

Elsewhere, NKT Holding plunged 8.57%, after the Danish maker of cables and industrial vacuum cleaners reported lower-than-expected second-quarter sales.

In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.26%, weighed by sharp losses in mining stocks and ahead of a revised U.K. gross domestic product report.

Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton plummeted 3.38% and 2.10%, while Vedanta Resources plunged 3.08%.

Oil and gas major Anglo American also contributed to losses, with shares tumbling 2.63%, while BP dropped 0.63% amid reports the company is planning to sell its only producing oil field in Brazil, which it paid USD3.2 billion last year to start exploring.

Elsewhere, insurance firm Aviva lost 0.37% after saying earlier that it may cut as many as 800 jobs in the U.K., as Chairman John McFarlane scales back operations to limit the impact of further turmoil in the euro zone.

Meanwhile, U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower, as shares in Barclays tumbled 1.62% and the Royal Bank of Scotland retreated 1.32%, while HSBC Holdings and Lloyds Banking slumped 0.77% and 0.73% respectively.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.09% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.03% decline.

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Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on durable goods orders.