European stocks mixed on Kim Jong il death; DAX up 0.06%

Investing.com - European stock markets were mixed to lower on Monday, as investor confidence waned after the announcement of North-Korean leader Kim Jong il’s death and amid ongoing concerns of mass downgrades in the euro zone.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased 0.01%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.24%, while Germany’s DAX 30 inched up 0.06%.

Concerns over geopolitical instability in northeast Asia escalated amid uncertainty over the future leadership of North Korea, following Kin Jong il’s death.

Meanwhile, concerns over mass credit rating downgrades across the euro zone lingered after Fitch Ratings put six euro zone nations including Spain and Italy on watch for downgrades on Friday, saying a "comprehensive solution" to the region's debt crisis was "technically and politically beyond reach."

Moody's cut Belgium by two notches to Aa3 from Aa1, citing risks to economic growth and the costs of bailouts of banks such as Dexia.

Financial stocks were mixed as shares in France’s BNP Paribas fell 0.50% and Dutch lender ING Group tumbled 2.21%, while Italian banks Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo jumped 2.79% and 1.97% respectively. 

Meanwhile, the energy sector was broadly lower with shares in Germany’s E.ON slipping 0.22% and RWE inching down 0.04%, while France’s Total was one of the top losers with shares plummeting 2.05%.

In London, FTSE 100 slumped 0.47%, led by sharp losses in the financial sector.

Lloyds Banking plunged 2.20% and Barclays tumbled 1.63%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings declined 1.61% and 0.50% respectively.

Energy stocks were also sharply lower. British Petroleum saw shares drop 1.74% and Vedanta Resources tumbled 1.65%.

Meanwhile, copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys declined 0.58% and 0.11%, while mining giant Bhp Billiton slid 0.91% and Anglo American fell 0.62%.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.17%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.26% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.31% gain.

Also Monday, the European Central Bank said that the euro zone current account recorded a deficit of EUR7.5 billion in October, swinging from a surplus of EUR2.2 billion the previous month.

Analysts had expected the region’s current account to swing to a deficit of EUR1.9 billion in October.

Later in the day, European Union leaders were to hold talks to discuss measures to resolve the debt crisis, including the possibility of European nations lending EUR200 billion to the International Monetary Fund.