European stocks struggled for direction on Monday, after having hit record highs last week in response to promising news on Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill and the upbeat U.S. jobs report.
Adding to investor optimism over economic recovery, a survey showed earlier today that investor morale in the euro zone rose in November for the first time since July.
Sentix’s index for the euro zone rose to 18.3 from 16.9 in October despite supply bottlenecks and concerns around high inflation.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index was marginally lower at 483.17 after ending flat with a positive bias on Friday.
The German DAX, France’s CAC 40 index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 all traded flat as investors looked ahead to the release of inflation data from the U.S. and China this week for clues on the outlook for global interest rates.
European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane said in an interview with a Spanish newspaper published today that surging inflation across the euro zone is a passing problem and not “chronic.”
“This period of inflation is very unusual and temporary, and not a sign of a chronic situation,” Lane told El País hours before the region’s finance ministers gather in Brussels to discuss rising cost of living.
Sirius Real Estate shares tumbled 3.3 percent in London. The industrial property company has agreed to acquire Helix Investments Limited, the holding company of the Bizspace business, from Värde Partners for a cash consideration of approximately 245 million pounds.
Online gambling firm Playtech rallied 2.1 percent after it received a takeover bid from its second-biggest shareholder.
Miner Antofagasta gained about 1 percent and Glencore rose half a percent after data showed China’s exports remained strong in October.
Oil & gas company BP Plc advanced 1.3 percent and Royal Dutch Shell climbed 1.8 percent, tracking higher oil prices.
Henkel slumped 5.4 percent. The German chemicals company expects FY21 earnings to be at the lower end of the guidance range.
European Shares Struggle For Direction
2021-11-08 09:58:52
