Investing.com - European stocks were mixed to lower in choppy trade on Monday, after disappointing German trade data, although Friday's strong U.S. employment report continued to support equity markets.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.20%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.41%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.27%.
Data showed that Germany's trade surplus narrowed in October as imports grew faster than exports, shrinking to EUR16.8 billion from EUR18.7 billion in September.
Germany exported goods worth EUR92.9 billion, up only fractionally from EUR92.7 billion in September, while imports grew by 2.8% to EUR76.1 billion from EUR74.0 billion.
Elsewhere, Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report showed that the economy added 203,000 jobs in November, well above expectations for jobs growth of 180,000. The unemployment rate fell to a five year low of 7.0%.
The data bolstered optimism over the outlook for the economic recovery and reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will start reducing its USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program at one of its next few meetings.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale rose 0.17% and 0.54%, although Germany's Deutsche Bank declined 0.53%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander added 0.17% and 0.27% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit gained 0.21% and 0.34%.
Elsewhere, ThyssenKrupp slipped 0.10% amid reports the German company plans keep its European steel business.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dipped 0.02%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata dropped 0.47% and Antofogasta tumbled 1.04%, while rivals Randgold Resources and Fresnillo plummeted 1.20% and 1.78% respectively.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mostly higher. HSBC Holdings saw shares rise 0.39% and the Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 0.52%, while Lloyds Banking gained 0.82%. Barclays underperformed however, down 0.20%.
Earlier in the day, the Financial Times reported that HSBC may spin off its U.K. retail and commercial bank to ease the effect of new regulations.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.05% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.12% increase.
Later in the day, Germany was to release data on industrial production.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.20%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.41%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.27%.
Data showed that Germany's trade surplus narrowed in October as imports grew faster than exports, shrinking to EUR16.8 billion from EUR18.7 billion in September.
Germany exported goods worth EUR92.9 billion, up only fractionally from EUR92.7 billion in September, while imports grew by 2.8% to EUR76.1 billion from EUR74.0 billion.
Elsewhere, Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report showed that the economy added 203,000 jobs in November, well above expectations for jobs growth of 180,000. The unemployment rate fell to a five year low of 7.0%.
The data bolstered optimism over the outlook for the economic recovery and reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will start reducing its USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program at one of its next few meetings.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale rose 0.17% and 0.54%, although Germany's Deutsche Bank declined 0.53%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander added 0.17% and 0.27% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit gained 0.21% and 0.34%.
Elsewhere, ThyssenKrupp slipped 0.10% amid reports the German company plans keep its European steel business.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dipped 0.02%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata dropped 0.47% and Antofogasta tumbled 1.04%, while rivals Randgold Resources and Fresnillo plummeted 1.20% and 1.78% respectively.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mostly higher. HSBC Holdings saw shares rise 0.39% and the Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 0.52%, while Lloyds Banking gained 0.82%. Barclays underperformed however, down 0.20%.
Earlier in the day, the Financial Times reported that HSBC may spin off its U.K. retail and commercial bank to ease the effect of new regulations.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.05% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.12% increase.
Later in the day, Germany was to release data on industrial production.