European equities closed largely lower on Tuesday as investors focused on the continuing negotiations on Greece's debt problems and new economic data.
European markets
The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 Index closed lower with major bourses mostly in negative territory.
The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 index and the French CAC closed roughly 0.4 percent lower, with most sectors closing lower as well.
Germany's DAX index closed around 1 percent lower; however peripheral stock markets like Spain's IBEX 35 and Italy's FTSE MIB closed higher.
Elsewhere, Greece is still a cause for concern for markets. The leaders of Germany and France, along with Greece's international creditor institutions, agreed late on Monday to work with "real intensity" in the coming days to try to reach a deal with the Greek government that could prevent it defaulting on its debt, Reuters reported late Monday.
Greece faces a 300 million euro ($327.9 million) payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Friday, but there are doubts the country can honor the debt without further financial aid.
"Traders are taking solace in the meeting of top European officials which include Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mario Draghi and French President Francois with a goal ironing out a issues for a plan which Greece could consider in coming days," Marius Paun and Jonathan Sudaria, two dealers at Capital Spreads, said in a note.
Stocks in Athens closed around 2.5 percent lower on Tuesday.
CPI in focus
Euro zone inflation data came in at 0.3 percent in May, above estimates. Meanwhile Spanish jobless data before the session opened showed a fall of 2.7 percent in May. German employment figures on Tuesday morning showed the economy added 22,000 jobs in April, better than the month before.
The fresh economic data comes ahead of a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting on Wednesday with market participants eager to gauge the strength of the turnaround in the monetary union.
In individual stocks news, U.K. plumbing supplier Wolseley saw its shares post 2 percent at the close, after reporting a rise in thirds-quarter earnings.
Premier Oil shares posted a 7.3 percent rise, after news of a deal to take full control of a project in the North Sea.
Tobacco company BAT closed near the bottom of benchmarks on Tuesday on news of a ruling affecting the sector in a Canadian court Monday.
U.S. stocks were trading lower on Tuesday, after European markets closed lower, as rising bond yields weighed on investor sentiment.
Asia tumbles
Asian stocks stumbled Tuesday, with markets in Sydney hitting a one-week low after the release of central bank decisions in Australia. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left its cash rate steady at a record low 2 percent. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut interest rates for the third time this year on Tuesday by 25 basis points to 7.25 percent.
—CNBC's See Kit Tang contributed to this market report.
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