European stocks slumped Monday, with auto makers and banks losing ground as investors mulled policy signals coming from the U.K. and the U.S. In Frankfurt, auto makers weighed on the DAX 30 DAX, -0.64% which dropped 0.6% to end at 11,554.71. Volkswagen AG VOW3, -2.25% VLKAY, -0.91% fell 2.2%, Daimler AG DAI, -1.90% gave up 1.5%, and BMW AG BMW, -1.12% also shed 1.5%. Those moves came after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, in an interview with European newspapers, reiterated his call for a 35% import tax on cars built in Mexico that will be exported to the U.S.

Asian stocks and the pound sagged on Tuesday as investors waited for British Prime Minister Theresa May to lay out plans to exit the European Union, which traders fear will see Britain lose access to the bloc's single market. Britain will not seek a Brexit deal that leaves it "half in, half out" of the EU, May will say later in the day, according to her office, in a speech setting out her 12 priorities for upcoming divorce talks with the bloc.