BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks fell on Tuesday to extend losses from the previous session, as global growth worries persisted and oil prices fell for a third straight session on concerns about oversupply, sending energy stocks tumbling.
Traders watched Brexit developments closely and looked ahead to Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting for clues on what to expect next year.
In economic releases, Germany's business confidence slid to its lowest level in over two years, data from the Ifo survey showed.
The Ifo Business Climate Index dropped to 101 from 102 in November, while economists expected a score of 101.7. The latest reading was the lowest since September 2016, when it was 100.8.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was down half a percent at 341.49 in opening deals after declining 1.1 percent in the previous session.
France's CAC 40 index was also down around half a percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was moving down 0.4 percent while the German DAX was little changed with a positive bias.
BP Plc, Total SA and Tullow Oil all fell around 1 percent as oil fell more than 2 percent to extend losses for a third straight session on supply glut worries.
Royal Dutch Shell fell 2.4 percent on a Bloomberg report that it is in talks to buy Endeavor Energy Resources LP for around $8 billion.
National Grid slumped 5.3 percent after Ofgem published sector-specific consultation documents for the company's U.K. transmission businesses as part of the ongoing RIIO 2 regulatory process.
Petrofac soared 5 percent after issuing a pre-close trading update ahead of the announcement of its full-year results.
Getlink, which manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between England and France, soared almost 6 percent in Paris after Eiffage bought a 5 percent stake in the company.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2018 AFX News
