European markets were expected to open lower Tuesday morning, as investors continued to monitor the latest corporate earnings reports and kept a close eye on Spain’s constitutional crisis.

Looking to the major bourses, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 is expected to open 12 points lower at 7,510, while the German DAX is set to start on a negative note, down 13 points at 12,987, and the French CAC is poised to open down 10 points at 5,378, according to IG.

Corporate earnings season continues to be in full swing, with several companies scheduled to post their latest figures Tuesday. Renault, Valeo, Covestro and Novartis are among some of the names expected to report.

Switching focus to politics, Spain’s central government took the unprecedented step of firing the government of Catalonia on Saturday in a last-ditch effort to prevent the restive region’s push for independence. In response, Catalan separatist leaders called for mass civil disobedience.

On the data front, France, Germany and the euro area are all due to report Markit Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data for October on Tuesday morning.