European Stocks Close Mixed

European stocks closed on a mixed note on Monday as investors stayed largely cautious, looking ahead to the upcoming policy meetings of the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, and reacting to earnings announcements and other corporate news.

A slowdown in coronavirus vaccination following several European countries temporarily suspending the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, and reports showing spikes in new coronavirus cases in some countries, including Germany and Italy, weighed on sentiment.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended flat. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 both ended lower by 0.17%, and Germany’s DAX slid 0.28%, while Switzerland’s SMI advanced 0.25%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Greece, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkey closed weak.

Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and Russia moved higher.

In the UK market, Evraz, Standard Life, M&G, Rio Tinto, Phoenix Group Holdings, BP, Smurfit Kappa Group, Royal Dutch Shell and BHP Group lost 2 to 3.3%. Glencore, Morrison Supermarkets, Informat and Natwest Group also ended notably lower.

On the other hand, Flutter Entertainment surged up nearly 7%. The owner of the Paddy Power and Betfair brands said it is considering an initial public offering of its U.S.-focused FanDuel sports betting and fantasy sports business.

Rolls-Royce Holdings, Kingfisher, IAG, Fresnillo and Avast gained 2 to 2.75%.

In Germany, Covestro, BASF, Thyssenkrupp, Adidas and Deutsche Bank declined sharply, while Volkswagen and Infineon Technologies ended with strong gains.

In the French market, Technip, BNP Paribas, Total, Renault, Saint-Gobain, WorldLine, Bouygues, Credit Agricole and Publicis Groupe lost 1 to 3%.

Among the gainers, Danone rallied nearly 3% on news that Emmanuel Faber would step down as chairman and chief executive due to growing pressure from shareholders.

Sanofi, STMicroElectronics, Safran, Kering and ArcelorMittal also closed with strong gains.

In economic news, a report from Destatis showed German wholesale price inflation reached its strongest level since late 2018, advancing 2.3% year-on-year in February, after staying flat in January.

Month-on-month, wholesale prices gained 1.4% versus 2.1% increase in January.

In the U.K., house prices increased in March as buyer demand reached record levels, property market website Rightmove said. House prices rose 0.8% month-on-month in March, following a 0.5% rise in February.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said Monday an increase in the market interest rates mirror the improvement in the economic outlook.

At its Thursday meeting, the Bank of England is expected to maintain its key interest rate at record low 0.1% and its bond purchases at GBP 895 billion.