European stocks got sharply lower on Tuesday as mixed production data in China highlighted concerns about the economy.
During European morning trade, the STOXX EURO 50 eased 2.04%, France's CAC 40 lost 2.02%, while the German DAX 30 fell 2.22%.
Official data showed on Tuesday that the index of business activity in the manufacturing sector in China fell to 49.7 in August, from 50.0 in the previous month, while the manufacturing PMI by Caixin rose last month to 47.3, from 47.1 in July.
Stock markets also remain cautious after the deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve System, Stanley Fischer, said on Friday that it was too early to say what decision will be taken by the central bank in relation to rates, on the political meeting in September.
The financial sector fell sharply, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS: BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS: SOGN) fell 1.71% and 2.23%, while German Deutsche Bank (XETRA: DBKGn) and Commerzbank (XETRA: CBKG) lost 1.52% and 1.89%.
Among the peripheral lenders, Italian Unicredit (MILAN: CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN: ISP) fell 1.29% and 1.35% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID: BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID: SAN) fell 1.52% and 1.28%.
Shares of Elekta AB ser. B (ST: EKTABs) rose 5.43%, after the Swedish manufacturer of medical devices announced that it expects to return to growth in the second half of this year.
London's FTSE 100 lost 1.29%, being under pressure of Rolls-Royce shares (LONDON: RR), which fell 2.22% after the automaker said it is cooperating with Brazilian authorities in the investigation of bribery in the state oil giant Petrobras.
Financial stocks also fell sharply, as shares of Lloys Banking eased 1.06%, HSBC Holdings (LONDON: HSBA) shares fell 1.17%, while shares of Barclays (LONDON: BARC) and Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON: RBS) retreated 1.26% and 1.43% respectively.
The mining sector shows a decline. The stocks of Bhp Billiton (LONDON: BLT) and Rio Tinto (LONDON: RIO) weakened by 1.52% and 1.53% respectively, while the shares of Glencore (LONDON: GLEN) fell 1.75%.
Meanwhile, shares of Inmarsat PLC (LONDON: ISA) continue to lead the index growth for the second day in a row, jumping 2.04% after the British satellite operator launched on Friday a satellite to complete a full internet coverage, thanks to which it will be able to offer customers higher speed connections at much lower rates.
In the US, equity markets point to a decline in anticipation of the opening. Dow Jones Industrial Average shows a 1.73% decline, S&P 500 futures indicate a 1.82% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 reported a decrease of 2.18%.