By Sagarika Jaisinghani and Lisa Pauline Mattackal
(Reuters) - European shares retreated on Monday, as investors cashed in gains from a record run in stocks that has put the benchmark index on course for its best year since the global financial crisis.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index (STOXX) began a holiday-shortened week with a 0.4% fall, with France's EssilorLuxottica among the biggest drags on the index.
The spectacles company (PA:ESLX) shed 2.2%, eyeing its worst day in four weeks, after saying it had discovered fraudulent activity at a plant in Thailand that was expected to cost the company 190 million euros ($213 million).
The lull was also reflected in major country indexes, with Frankfurt shares (GDAXI) declining more than half a percent in the absence of any major updates on a U.S.-China trade truce. Spanish stocks (IBEX) dropped 0.5%, while London-listed shares (FTSE) dipped 0.3%.
"Volumes are about 50% below average and people are doing as little as possible: a little bit of profit taking and a little bit of window dressing as it's the year end," said Mark Taylor, a sales trader at Mirabaud.
After somewhat choppy trading earlier in the year, European equities have enjoyed a strong December as investors received clarity on two of the major risks to global economic growth: the U.S.-China trade war and Brexit.
Fairly upbeat economic data from around the world has also eased recession fears, with latest figures showing Spain's economy growing 0.4% in the third quarter, in line with a flash estimate.
But with just two days left until the end of the decade, few major updates are expected on the initial Sino-U.S. trade agreement, giving stock prices little motivation to move much from current levels.
Among individual stocks, Italian state-owned lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MI:BMPS) gained 0.9% as it completed three disposals of impaired loans for around 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion), surpassing a goal set in its restructuring plan two years ahead of time.
Norway-based Elkem (OL:ELK), a supplier of silicone and silicon materials, rose 2% after agreeing to acquire Polysil, a Chinese maker of silicone elastomer and resins.