07:42 AM EDT, 07/02/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European bourses tracked moderately lower midday Tuesday as traders weighed rising petroleum prices on Middle East tensions and a report indicating stubborn core inflation on the continent.

Rising bond yields also tempered sentiments.

Oil shares were lifted by higher crude prices to buck trends, while bank and retail issues led decliners.

Investors also eyed Wall Street futures signaling red, but unevenly higher closes overnight on Asian exchanges.

Euro area headline inflation is expected to post up 2.5% in June on year, down from the 2.6% on-year gain in May, reported Eurostat. However, the euro area core inflation rate, that excludes food, energy, alcohol and tobacco, is expected at 2.9% in June on year, unchanged from the May rate, said the agency.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down 0.7% mid-session.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index was off 0.6%, and the Stoxx 600 Banks Index lost 1.1%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index was up 1.3%, but the Stoxx 600 Europe Food and Beverage Index declined 0.3%.

The REITE, a European REIT index, fell 0.9%, but the Stoxx Europe 600 Retail Index declined 0.9%.

On the national market indexes, Germany's DAX was down 1.1%, and the FTSE 100 in London was down 0.5%. The CAC 40 in Paris was off 0.9%, and Spain's IBEX 35 lost 1.7%.

Yields on benchmark 10-year German bonds were higher, near 2.61%.

Front-month North Sea Brent crude-oil futures were up 0.7% to $87.29 per barrel.

The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index was up 6.3% to 16.90, still indicating below-average volatility for European stock markets in the next 30 days, a positive signal. A reading above 20 indicates choppier markets ahead, while below 20 suggests calmer exchanges.