European stocks fluctuate; Renault drags carmakers lower

European stocks saw a negative opening but swung between gains and losses in the early hours of trade on Tuesday amid a slew of corporate results and uncertainty over the impact of Western sanction on Russia.

The Stoxx 600 traded in a rangebound around 341.30 in the early part of the European session, erasing the opening advance as the French carmaker  Renault  dragged its counterparts lower, offseting report of better-than-expected proft at companies including the British oil producer BP and Spanish construction company Ferrovial. Among equity movers:

- Renault SA lost 3.2% after revealed that it is consuming more than than it did a year ago

- BP Plc rose after announcing a dividend that matched forecast.

- Ferrovial SA rose 1.4% after posting first-half profit that beat forecast and said it will buy back shares.

Bank shares also came in focus, with German lender Deutsche Bank losing 1.0% after reporting a fall in second-quarter net profit and revenue missing average forecast.

On geopolitics, Investors were kind of spooked by the new round of sanction against Russia, which came on the heels of the crash of Malaysian jet over Ukraine, killing 298 people on board.

The US and European Union leaders agreed on Monday to extend sanction on Russian business, defense and energy sectors.

In Gaza, the fighting continued between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israeli defense Forces (IDF), one day after both parties announced a new 24-hour ceasefire on Monday.

Britian`s FTSE 100 index traded higher around 6,803.65 after the Bank of England said that UK mortgage approvals rose to a four-month high in June.