European Shares Mixed In Cautious Trade

European stocks were mixed on Monday as investors fretted over risk to growth from rising inflation and China Evergrande’s financial troubles.

Market participants were closely watching beleaguered developer China Evergrande, whose shares were suspended in Hong Kong ahead of an announcement about a major transaction.

Eurozone finance ministers will meet in Luxembourg later today, with matters including the EU’s recovery plans as well as progress on the much-delayed banking union project on the agenda.

The pan European Stoxx 600 was marginally lower at 452.64 after closing 0.4 percent lower on Friday.

The German DAX and France’s CAC 40 index were down around 0.1 percent each while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent.

Banks, automakers and luxury stocks were broadly lower on concerns that regulatory clampdowns and a collapse at Evergrande could hurt an already fragile Chinese economy and drag on global growth.

Spanish energy company Repsol added 1.2 percent on expectations that it will benefit from record high gas prices.

Morrisons tumbled 3.7 percent in London after private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) won a bid for the supermarket chain in an auction at the weekend. Rival Tesco advanced 1.6 percent and Sainsbury surged 5.7 percent.

Petrofac fell 1.3 percent in volatile trade after the oil services group said it is looking at refinancing options including debt and fresh equity.

AstraZeneca climbed 1.1 percent. The drug maker announced that its cancer drug Enhertu has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the FDA for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2 positive breast cancer.

Low-cost airline Wizz Air Holdings was down about 1 percent while Ryanair Holdings advanced 1.4 percent after reporting their passenger traffic figures for September.

FirstGroup declined 1.4 percent. The provider of transport services in the U.K. and North America announced that its unit First South West Limited has acquired the remaining 50 percent shareholding in its Somerset Passenger Solutions joint venture.

Market Analysis