European stocks fell on Tuesday ahead of key data that will offer a window into the health of major economies, while the dollar hovered close to its highest in six weeks.
The euro zone, Britain, France and the United States are all set to publish flash February PMI data, with market players watching for signs of the toll tighter monetary policy has taken on activity.
In early trading, the Euro STOXX 600 (.STOXX) fell 0.2%, with major indexes in Germany, France and Britain opening slightly in the red.
The data comes at a key time for equity markets, whose strong start to the year after a bruising 2022 has stalled in February.
"We are at a pivotal moment, where investors are thinking about restarting some positions," said Francesco Sandrini, head of multi-asset strategies at Amundi. "These numbers are really important."
Manufacturing activity in the euro zone is seen as shrinking in February, though at a slower rate than in the last five months. Services activity is forecast to have expanded modestly.
The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS), which tracks shares in 47 countries, fell 0.2%.
U.S. markets, closed on Monday due to President's Day holiday, were set for slim losses. E-mini futures for the S&P 500 were last down 0.5%.
Earlier, Asian stocks also slid, weighed down by the prospect of the U.S. Federal Reserve having staying on its hawkish path.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 0.9% to 529.97, falling under six-week lows of 529.05 touched last week.
Kicking off the round of PMIs was Japan, where manufacturing activity shrank at the fastest pace in 30 months in February, as the world's third-largest economy faces weakening demand and struggling to tame cost pressures.
