The indices were also hurt by the fall in the stock of Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer after weak results.
Data released on Tuesday showed France’s manufacturing sector remains in the doldrums, while the services PMI fell from April levels but remained within the growth range.
Sentiment in Germany’s manufacturing sector also weakened in May, with the PMI falling to 42.9 from 44.5, but strong performance in the services sector helped lift the composite PMI.
Better-than-expected PMI surveys helped boost sentiment in April, but that confidence is weakening as speculation continues that the European Central Bank will continue to tighten monetary policy in its fight against inflation.
Spanish central bank governor Pablo Hernandez de Cos said on Monday that the ECB needed to raise interest rates further to bring inflation back to its medium-term target of 2%.
On the other hand, concerns persist over the U.S. debt ceiling file. U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ended talks Monday night without an agreement on how to raise the debt ceiling. US government debt at $31.4 trillion.
Market movements
Europe’s Stoxx 600 index fell 0.3% at 0715 GMT, with the travel and entertainment sector and financial services companies leading the losses.
Julius Baer plunged 7.6% after the Swiss bank announced a slight increase in assets under management and cash flows in the first four months of the year, in what it described as a difficult period for wealth managers.
In Britain, BT Group rose 0.4% as billionaire Patrick Drahi increased his stake in the telecoms group to 24.5%, but confirmed he had no plans to proceed with a complete takeover.
French media group Vivendi fell 6.1% to the bottom of the main CAC 40 index in Paris.
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