European stocks mixed to lower in cautious trade; Dax down 0.15%

European stocks were mixed to lower on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious amid ongoing uncertainty over the future of the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program. 

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased 0.08%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.05% higher, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.15%. 

European stocks found support on Monday, after data showed that the euro zone’s services purchasing managers’ index rose to 49.8 in July, from a final reading of 48.3 in June, adding to signs of a recovery in the euro zone. 

But markets were jittery after data on Monday showed that activity in the U.S. services sector expanded at the fastest rate in five months in July, adding to expectations for the Fed to soon scale back its stimulus program.

Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale climbed 0.66% and 0.71%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank slid 0.30%. 

Credit Agricole, France's third largest bank by market value, saw shares jump 4.63% after saying profit surged in the second quarter, following the sale of its unprofitable Greek unit. 

Among peripheral lenders, Spanish bank BBVA fell 0.28%, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo gained 0.34% and 0.42%. 

Elsewhere, Salzgitter dove 9.95% after the steelmaker said it expects a pretax loss of about EUR400 million euros this year, due to a slump in demand. 

In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.20%, weighed by losses in the mining sector. 

Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto retreated 0.92% and 1.39%, while rivals Randgold Resources and Fresnillo sank 2.97% and 6.75% respectively. 

Meanwhile, financial stocks were mostly lower, as shares in Barclays slumped 0.71% and HSBC Holdings tumbled 1.07%, while Lloyds Banking plummeted 1.80%. The Royal Bank of Scotland overperformed on the other hand, adding 0.22%. 

HSBC reported earlier that profit missed analysts’ estimates, while Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver said fast-growing emerging markets are slowing. 

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.06% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.09% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.01% gain. 

Later in the day, Germany was to release official data on factory orders, while the U.S. was to produce data on the trade balance

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Forex - Dollar moves higher vs. yen

The dollar moved higher against the yen on Tuesday as investors re-examined expectations on how soon the Federal Reserve may start to pull back its asset purchase program following strong U.S. service sector data on Monday.

USD/JPY hit 98.59 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 98.56, gaining 0.29%.

The pair was likely to find support at 97.64, the low of August 1 and resistance at 99.56, the high of the same day.

The dollar regained ground against the yen after data on Monday showed that activity in the U.S. services sector expanded at the fastest rate in five months in July.

The Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index rose to 56.0 from a three year low of 52.2 in June, as new orders jumped.

The data helped offset the latest U.S. jobs report which showed that the U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in July, less than the 184,000 increase forecast by economists.

The yen was also lower against the euro, with EUR/JPY rising 0.31% to 130.69.

Germany was to release official data on factory orders later Monday and the U.S. was to produce data on the trade balance.

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