The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.7% at 3:10 p.m. London time, with all sectors and major bourses in negative territory. Travel and leisure stocks led losses, down around 2.4%.
Shares of online food retailer Ocado jumped to the top of the Stoxx 600, rising as much as 9%, after announcing last week that it had struck a deal with Turkish delivery business Getir to access its former U.K. customers.
Tuesday’s session is light on the corporate earnings front, while Germany released wholesale price data.
Investors are continuing to weigh the prospects of a June rate cut by the European Central Bank after two key policymakers threw their weight behind the prospect on Monday.
The comments added to speculation that the ECB may move ahead of the Federal Reserve, which has grown more cautious in its assessment of the path for inflation. Investors are likely to closely monitor the euro zone’s latest inflation data on Friday.
Stateside, the S&P 500 rose slightly on Tuesday as investors await inflation data due at the end of the shortened trading week for a better picture of the market’s outlook. Meanwhile, in Asia-Pacific, markets were mixed as investors considered the outlook for global interest rates.