BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks fell on Tuesday after the United States slapped sanctions on Tehran and the Iranian government said the measures spell the 'permanent closure' for diplomacy between the two nations.
Analysts also remain skeptical whether the United States and China will make any progress on trade at the G20 summit beginning on Friday.
The president is 'comfortable with any outcome' from the talks, a senior U.S. official reportedly said on Monday.
The pan European Stoxx 600 was down 0.3 percent at 383.46 after declining 0.3 percent in the previous session. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 were marginally lower while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent.
The British pound briefly scaled a one-month high on dollar weakness ahead of the Fed Chair Powell's speech.
Closer home, the favorite to replace British Prime Minister Theresa May, Boris Johnson, said he was seriously prepared to take the country out of the European Union in October with or without agreeing a deal with the bloc.
Tesco fell 2.3 percent and Morrison lost 2.4 percent after the latest grocery market share figures, published by Kantar, showed grocers enjoyed only modest growth of 1.4 percent year-on-year during the quarter to June 16.
Carpetright, Britain's biggest floor coverings retailer, jumped more than 9 percent as it returned to sales growth in its new financial year.
German lender Commerzbank was trading flat after announcing it would issue a subordinated bond with an exclusion of the subscription right of the shareholders.
Capgemini soared as much as 7 percent in Paris. The business consultancy firm has agreed to buy engineering and digital services company Altran Technologies for total cash consideration of 3.6 billion euros, excluding net financial debt of 1.4 billion euros. Altran shares jumped 21 percent.
Automaker Renault fell over 1 percent. Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa said that the carmaker will postpone talks with French partner Renault on deepening their alliance, instead focusing on its own recovery.
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