Europe Markets

Europe closes mixed as miners fall on China fears

European market closes lower
VIDEO0:3700:37
European market closes lower

European stocks closed mixed on Tuesday, with the basic resource sector pressured down due to concerns about China.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 closed provisionally 0.1 percent higher at 1,352.57 points.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and French Cac 40 closed slightly lower, while Spain's Ibex was up 0.5 percent. The German Dax and Italian FTSE MIB closed flat.

Once again, the worst sector performer was basic resources, due to its heavy exposure to China.

Mainland Chinese shares posted their biggest loss in seven weeks, with property stocks the main focus. This was largely due to reports that the country's banks may have pared back lending to property developers. In addition, data on Monday showed Chinese home prices easing for the first time in 14 months, further weighed on trading sentiment.

European markets


In other news, the European Commission upped its growth forecast for the euro zone this year. It now see the 18-country region growing by 1.2 percent in 2014.

In Italy, new Prime Minister Matteo Renzi won a confidence vote in parliament by 169 votes to 139 in the early hours of Tuesday morning. This followed a speech on Monday afternoon in which he detailed an ambitious program of change, pledging to cut labor taxes, free up funds for investment in schools and pass wide institutional reforms to tackle economic stagnation.

(Read more: Italy's new leader Renzi already in the soup)

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is still on the run from authorities after a warrant for his arrest was issued on Monday. Yanukovych, who was ousted as president on Saturday, is believed to be somewhere in the Crimean peninsula.

The removal of Yanukovych came after months of protests sparked by his rejection of closer ties with the European Union. The unrest escalated last week after security forces attempted to clamp down on protests. Dozens died in the resulting clashes and Oeksander Turchinov took on the role of acting president over the weekend.

(Read more: Russia the 'swing factor' in Ukraine's future)

In stocks news, Jyske Bank shares surged to close over 10 percent higher after it announced the $1.4 billion takeover of Danish mortgage credit institution BRFkredit.

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