European Shares Struggle For Direction With Fed Meeting In Focus

European stocks struggled for direction on Monday as a slew of Chinese data missed expectations.

Chinese industrial production and retail sales grew less than expected in August, home prices fell at the fastest pace in nine years and unemployment rose, adding to concerns over economic recovery and bolstering the case for additional economic stimulus.

China’s central bank is poised to set its one-year loan prime rate and the five-year rate on Friday.

Investors also shifted focus to a slew of key central bank rate decisions this week, including the Bank of England’s interest-rate announcement due on Thursday.

The pound rose to its highest in more than a week and gold prices hovered near record levels as investors raised their bets of a more aggressive Federal Reserve rate cut on Wednesday.

The pan European STOXX 600 was marginally lower at 515.93 after climbing 0.8 percent on Friday.

The German DAX dipped 0.3 percent, while France’s CAC 40 and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 were marginally higher.

In corporate news, Italian oil and gas major Eni rose half a percent after reports that it is seeking to sell more shares in its renewables arm Plenitude.

Lender UniCredit advanced 1.6 percent after an announcement that it will start repurchasing as much as €1.7 billion ($1.89 billion) of its own stock.

British insurer Phoenix Group Holdings tumbled 3.6 percent after dropping the sale process of its SunLife business.

Playtech jumped 8 percent. The gambling technology firm said it expects 2024 adjusted core profit to be slightly ahead of market expectations.

Ipsen SA jumped 5.7 percent in Paris. The French drug maker has cancelled plans to commercialize a treatment for prostate cancer after a late-stage trial stopped short of reaching its main goals.

Electrical supplies distributor Rexel soared nearly 10 percent after saying it had rejected an unsolicited preliminary bid from billionaire Brad Jacobs-led QXO.

Vossloh AG shares rose 2.7 percent. The German rail technology company said that it has secured a contract worth more than 100 million euros for a two-year term from DB InfraGO AG, the Deutsche Bahn AG unit.