Europe seen lower; Greece talks see slow progress

European equities are expected to open lower Tuesday as talks between Greece and euro zone finance ministers make progress but fall short of a deal on reforms and aid.

Greece's progress on reforms was the main subject of debate at yet another round of talks between Greece and the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels on Monday. Without reform, the country cannot receive a vital tranche of bailout aid worth 7.2 billion euros ($8.03 billion).

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup, said Greece could start receiving some emergency funding if it begins reforms agreed with its creditors. However, he warned that a referendum on Greece's bailout program could delay any aid disbursement.

His comments were in line with remarks made by a Greek government official who told CNBC Monday that Greece could get some kind of "transitional deal."

In Asia, shares were mixed on Tuesday, as investors weighed a raft of corporate report cards in the region and awaited the release of the federal budget in Sydney, Australia.

U.S. stocks closed lower Monday on the back of a confluence of factors which included worries over Greece's financial condition, slowing growth in China as well as gains in bond yields.

Earnings in Europe are expected from Carlsberg, Allianz, Deutsche Post, Unicredit and Easyjet. U.K. industrial production figures are due at 09:30 GMT.

- See Kit Tang contributed to this market report.