European stocks fell, after posting a weekly gain, as the U.S. and Europe threatened tougher sanctions on Russia over its suspected role in the shooting down of flight MH17 in Ukrainian airspace.

"The conflict in Gaza, the Ukraine crisis -- these are the main topics," Soeren Steinert, who helps manage about $24 billion as associate director for equities trading at Quoniam Asset Management GmbH in Frankfurt, said in a phone interview. "I can't see any panic selling. It is only just that people are not willing to buy. There is no conviction that the market should be falling further."

National benchmark indexes fell in 14 of 18 western European markets. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.3 percent. France's CAC 40 lost 0.7 percent. Germany's DAX declined 1.1 percent to the lowest level since May 9.

In the Middle East, diplomatic efforts to end two weeks of Gaza Strip fighting intensified after battles killed dozens of Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers in the conflict's bloodiest single day.

Commerzbank fell 1.9 percent to 10.74 euros. Germany's markets regulator BaFin found high operational risks and problems in the lender's internal accounting system in 2013, Capital magazine reported, citing an unreleased BaFin report. The review didn't find any errors in Commerzbank's reporting, the magazine said.

Julius Baer jumped 8.3 percent to 39.60 Swiss francs. The wealth manager founded in 1890 said first-half net income climbed to 178.3 million francs ($198 million) from 114 million francs a year earlier. Assets under management rose by 20 billion francs to 274 billion francs.

Tesco Plc added 1.3 percent to 288.65 pence after saying Unilever's Dave Lewis will replace Philip Clarke as chief executive officer on Oct. 1. The retailer also said first-half sales and trading profit are below expectations.

Sky Deutschland AG climbed 4.5 percent to 6.70 euros, the biggest gain since May 12. Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox Inc. may reach an agreement to sell its 57 percent stake in the company to British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc in the next two weeks, two people familiar with the matter said. The Sunday Times reported yesterday that BSkyB is close to a deal to buy the European assets from Fox. BSkyB fell 1.5 percent to 904 pence today.

U.S. stock futures fell as concern over geopolitical tensions kept investors on the sidelines before major companies report earnings.

Global markets:

Hang Seng 23,387.14 -67.65 -0.29%

Shanghai Composite 2,054.48 -4.59 -0.22%

FTSE 6,724.88 -24.57 -0.36%

CAC 4,310.64 -24.67 -0.57%

DAX 9,622.24 -97.78 -1.01%

Crude oil $103.39 (+0.25%)

Gold $1316.40 (+0.56%)

(company / ticker / price / change, % / volume)

Upgrades:

Apple (AAPL) upgraded to Mkt Outperform from Mkt Perform at JMP Securities

Starbucks (SBUX) upgraded to Buy at Belus Capital Advisors

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) upgraded to Outperform at FBR Capital; target raised to $70 from $55

Downgrades:

Coca-Cola (KO) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Societe Generale

Other:

Apple (AAPL) target raised to $115 from $100 at UBS

Cisco Systems (CSCO) target raised to $28 from $24 at RBC Capital Mkts

European stocks were down after the fixation of the weekly rate, due to geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East. U.S. index futures fell, while Asian stocks remained almost unchanged.

Market participants assess the degree of geopolitical tensions after the crash Malaysia Airlines in Ukraine and are waiting for new quarterly results in the U.S. and Europe.

"The geopolitical events in the fundamentals, which are usually determined by the dynamics of financial assets, should be kept in long-term context, the actions of central banks further soften it," - said the Financial Times, Ian Williams of the company Peel Hunt. According to him, investors' attention should shift the financial results of companies. While reporting season surpasses market expectations: 68% of companies have already reported S & P earnings above expectations.

Little influenced by the German data, which showed that in a monthly basis, prices of German manufacturers remained unchanged in June, which followed a decline of 0.2 percent in May. Many experts expect that this figure will grow by 0.1 percent. It was also reported that, compared with the same period of the previous year the producer price index fell by 0.7 per cent compared, a little slow pace compared to May, when it was seen falling 0.8 percent. We add that the last change coincided with the average forecast. Also note that the June decline is the smallest since December. Excluding energy prices, producer prices in June fell 0.1 percent year on year, but remained unchanged in monthly terms.

Airbus Group shares fell 0.80% despite the claims that the company this week could sell 100 or more copies of a fresh model A330neo aircraft at Farnborough International Airshow.

Philips shares rose 0.10% after the electronics maker reported a decline in profits in the second quarter, but said he expects to see an improvement in the second half of this year.

The market value of British retailer Tesco Plc rose by 2.6%. The company announced the appointment of new CEO Dave Lewis, who had previously worked in Unilever. D.Lyuis take up his duties on October 1.

The price of the Julius Baer Group Ltd. increased by maximum of 5.9% for the year, as the bank announced an increase in profits in the first half of 2014 by 56% to 178.3 million Swiss francs. Assets under management increased by Julius Baer in January-June by 20 billion to 274 billion francs.

Commerzbank shares fell 1.8 percent after the market regulator BaFin found high operational risks and challenges in the internal accounting system in 2013.

At the current moment

FTSE 100 6,735.91 -13.54 -0.20%

CAC 40 4,331.46 -3.85 -0.09%

DAX 9,670.03 -49.99 -0.51%

Asian stocks rose following a global rebound after the downing of a passenger jet in Ukraine and Israel's invasion of Gaza roiled markets. Technology and financial shares led the advance.

S&P/ASX 200 5,539.9 +8.24 +0.15%

TOPIX closed

SHANGHAI COMP 2,054.57 -4.50 -0.22%

HANG SENG 23,449.7 -5.09 -0.02%

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., an assembler of Apple Inc.'s iPhones, climbed 2.3 percent in Taipei, leading technology firms to the largest gain on the regional gauge.

Woori Investment & Securities Co. rose 4.9 percent in Seoul for a eighth day of gains.

China Coal Energy Co., the nation's second-largest producer, sank 1.2 percent in Hong Kong after saying it expects profit will drop.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei 225 15,215.71 -154.55 -1.01 %

Hang Seng 23,454.79 -66.08 -0.28 %

Shanghai Composite 2,059.07 +3.48 +0.17 %

FTSE 100 6,749.45 +11.13 +0.17 %

CAC 40 4,335.31 +19.19 +0.44 %

Xetra DAX 9,720.02 -33.86 -0.35 %

S&P 500 1,978.22 +20.10 +1.03 %

NASDAQ 4,432.15+68.70 +1.57 %

Dow Jones 17,100.18 +123.37 +0.73 %