European equity markets were generally lower in by mid-afternoon on Tuesday even though performance in the transport and constructions sectors both were doing well as higher oil prices and a slow start on Wall Street both took a toll.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.7 percent to 1,074.37, while Xetra Dax declined 0.8 percent to 4,256.43 and the CAC-40 was down 0.5 percent to 3,998.48. P&O Nedlloyd, a Dutch container ship group, led the transport sector with a 16.percent rise to €48.47 on reports that it is negotiating a merger with Maersk Sealand, a larger rival.

Moeller Maersk, which spawned Maersk Sealand, was also up by 4.6 percent to Dkr54,500. Fraport, the Frankfurt airport operator, rose 3 percent to €32.75 after a better-than-expected quarterly report.

The construction sector was mostly up as well, with Spanish builder Actividades de Construccion y Servicios rising 2.2 percent to €20.21 after reporting positive first-quarter earnings.

HeidelbergCement was up 0.8 percent to €48.38 and Fomento de Construcciones ye Contratas advanced 1.2 percent to €43.51. Grupo Ferrovial, however, was down 1 percent to €46.11.