Investing.com – European stocks were mixed on Monday, as losses in the financial sector outweighed gains in the commodity sector, while U.S. futures indexes pointed to a lower open on Wall Street.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.30%; France’s CAC 40 declined 0.11%; while Germany's DAX gained 0.16%.
Shares in the financial sector performed poorly ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels later in the day. The ministers faced pressure to increase the size of a EUR 750 billion safety net for indebted euro members, in order to arrest sovereign debt contagion in the single currency bloc.
Shares in Spain’s largest lender Banco Santander tumbled 1.92%, Italy’s largest bank Unicredit saw shares plunge 2.06%, while shares in the world’s largest banking group BNP Paribas plummeted 2.52%.
In Germany, the DAX was higher as shares in the country’s largest construction firm Hochtief surged 2.88% after the company agreed to sell a 9.1% stake to Qatar Holding LLC for approximately EUR 400 million.
Elsewhere, shares in the world’s largest manufacturer of wireless network equipment Ericsson slumped 1.02% after the company announced that CEO Michael Treschow would step down in 2011.
Rivals Vodafone Group saw shares gain 1.04% after the U.K. wireless service provider said it was finalizing a deal to sell its 44% stake in French mobile operator SFR to co-owner Vivendi for an undisclosed fee. Shares in Vivendi gained 0.87% following the news.
Meanwhile, in London, the FTSE 100 declined 0.09% as shares in Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco tumbled 1.62% after the stock was downgraded to ‘neutral’ by global financial service provider UBS.
But losses were limited as shares in the commodity sector advanced. Shares in the world’s fourth-largest copper producer Xstrata soared 2.27%, while oil and gas giant British Petroleum saw shares jump 0.77%.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was downbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.12%, S&P 500 futures indicated a loss of 0.29% and Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to an decrease of 0.23%.
On Sunday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" aired Sunday, that it could be four to five years before the U.S. returned to a more normal jobless rate but that the U.S. economy was not likely to fall back into a recession.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.30%; France’s CAC 40 declined 0.11%; while Germany's DAX gained 0.16%.
Shares in the financial sector performed poorly ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels later in the day. The ministers faced pressure to increase the size of a EUR 750 billion safety net for indebted euro members, in order to arrest sovereign debt contagion in the single currency bloc.
Shares in Spain’s largest lender Banco Santander tumbled 1.92%, Italy’s largest bank Unicredit saw shares plunge 2.06%, while shares in the world’s largest banking group BNP Paribas plummeted 2.52%.
In Germany, the DAX was higher as shares in the country’s largest construction firm Hochtief surged 2.88% after the company agreed to sell a 9.1% stake to Qatar Holding LLC for approximately EUR 400 million.
Elsewhere, shares in the world’s largest manufacturer of wireless network equipment Ericsson slumped 1.02% after the company announced that CEO Michael Treschow would step down in 2011.
Rivals Vodafone Group saw shares gain 1.04% after the U.K. wireless service provider said it was finalizing a deal to sell its 44% stake in French mobile operator SFR to co-owner Vivendi for an undisclosed fee. Shares in Vivendi gained 0.87% following the news.
Meanwhile, in London, the FTSE 100 declined 0.09% as shares in Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco tumbled 1.62% after the stock was downgraded to ‘neutral’ by global financial service provider UBS.
But losses were limited as shares in the commodity sector advanced. Shares in the world’s fourth-largest copper producer Xstrata soared 2.27%, while oil and gas giant British Petroleum saw shares jump 0.77%.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was downbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.12%, S&P 500 futures indicated a loss of 0.29% and Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to an decrease of 0.23%.
On Sunday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" aired Sunday, that it could be four to five years before the U.S. returned to a more normal jobless rate but that the U.S. economy was not likely to fall back into a recession.