European Shares Little Changed In Lackluster Trade

European stocks were little changed in lackluster trade on Monday as Covid-19 worries persisted and survey results from the ifo Institute showed German business morale improved by less than expected in April amid a third wave of Covid-19 infections and bottlenecks in production.

The business confidence index rose to 96.8 in April from 96.6 in the previous month. The score was forecast to rise to 97.8.

Travel stocks were climbing after a top European Union official said on Sunday American holidaymakers who have received a coronavirus vaccine should be able to travel to Europe by summer.

Some of Italy’s coronavirus restrictions are being eased in regions designated ‘yellow’ zones starting today. France plans to ease its lockdown restrictions next month, allowing its citizens to travel within the country.

The pan European Stoxx 600 was marginally higher at 439.08 after ending down 0.1 percent on Friday. The German DAX and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 were marginally lower, while France’s CAC 40 index was little changed with a positive bias.

Travel-related stocks such as Lufthansa, EasyJet and International Airlines Group jumped 3-4 percent on hopes of a revival in travel demand.

Swedish auto giant Volvo dropped 1 percent after saying it may see further disruption from the semiconductor shortage.

Nestle was down half a percent. The Swiss food giant confirmed that it is in discussions to buy nutritional supplement maker The Bountiful Company.

Philips tumbled 3.2 percent. The Dutch firm said it anticipates a hit of up to 250 million euros ($302 million) from a possible safety risk in some sleep and respiratory care products.

Austrian sensor maker AMS lost about 4 percent after a broader downgrade on concerns around the company potentially losing product supply deals at Apple.

British consumer goods company Unilever, beverage company Diageo and tobacco firm British American Tobacco all fell over 1 percent as the pound strengthened on optimism about the economic outlook.

Miners gained ground, with Antofagasta climbing 1.6 percent and Glencore adding 0.7 percent after copper prices hit their highest in over 10 years.

Rolls Royce Holding shares soared 4.5 percent after the aerospace company said it was in constructive talks with Spain over the sale of its Spanish unit ITP Aero.

Engineering firm IMI surged 7.7 percent after lifting its full-year earnings guidance.

Crédit Agricole shares advanced 1.7 percent. The French lender said late Friday that its Italian subsidiary Credit Agricole Italia SpA now owns around 91.17 percent of Credito Valtellinese’s share capital.

Volkswagen AG shares fell 1.2 percent after the Financial Times reported the German company had warned top managers to brace for a bigger production hit in the second quarter due to a global chip shortage.

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