Investing.com - European stocks were steady to higher on Monday, after the release of mixed service sector reports from the euro zone, while a disappointing economic report from China weighed.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.22%, France’s CAC 40 eased up 0.02%, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.12%.
Markit research group said the euro zone's final services purchasing managers' index came in at 51.0 in December, unchanged from the preliminary estimate and down slightly from 51.2 in November.
Germany's services PMI fell to 53.5 last month, from a reading of 54.0 in November, compared to expectations for the index to remain unchanged.
In Spain, the services PMI rose to a six-and-a-half year high of 54.2 in December, from a reading of 51.5 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged last month.
But markets were jittery after data over the weekend showed that activity in China’s services sector slumped to the weakest level since August 2011 in December, fuelling concerns over the outlook for growth in the world’s second largest economy.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale climbed 0.68% and 0.82%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank added 0.22%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander gained 0.93% and 0.99% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit rallied 0.97% and 2.62%.
Elsewhere, Sanofi inched up 0.05%, erasing earlier losses, after JPMorgan cut its recommendation on the drugmaker to "neutral" from "overweight".
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 inched up 0.01%, even as data showed that activity in the U.K. service sector slowed to a six month low in December.
Mining stocks remained broadly lower, as Rio Tinto tumbled 1.68% and Vedanta Resources lost 1.85%, while rivals Fresnillo and Randgold Resources plunged 2.24% and 2.15% respectively.
Centamin overperformed however, surging 3.44%, after the gold miner said preliminary results indicate full-year production of 356,943 ounces, up 36% from 2012, exceeding previous forecasts of 320,000 ounces.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mixed, as Lloyds Banking dropped 0.58% and the Royal Bank of Scotland retreated 0.72%, while HSBC Holdings edged up 0.16% and Barclays saw shares advance 0.65%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.11% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.03% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on factory orders, while the Institute of Supply Management was to release data on service sector activity.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.22%, France’s CAC 40 eased up 0.02%, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.12%.
Markit research group said the euro zone's final services purchasing managers' index came in at 51.0 in December, unchanged from the preliminary estimate and down slightly from 51.2 in November.
Germany's services PMI fell to 53.5 last month, from a reading of 54.0 in November, compared to expectations for the index to remain unchanged.
In Spain, the services PMI rose to a six-and-a-half year high of 54.2 in December, from a reading of 51.5 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged last month.
But markets were jittery after data over the weekend showed that activity in China’s services sector slumped to the weakest level since August 2011 in December, fuelling concerns over the outlook for growth in the world’s second largest economy.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale climbed 0.68% and 0.82%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank added 0.22%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander gained 0.93% and 0.99% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit rallied 0.97% and 2.62%.
Elsewhere, Sanofi inched up 0.05%, erasing earlier losses, after JPMorgan cut its recommendation on the drugmaker to "neutral" from "overweight".
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 inched up 0.01%, even as data showed that activity in the U.K. service sector slowed to a six month low in December.
Mining stocks remained broadly lower, as Rio Tinto tumbled 1.68% and Vedanta Resources lost 1.85%, while rivals Fresnillo and Randgold Resources plunged 2.24% and 2.15% respectively.
Centamin overperformed however, surging 3.44%, after the gold miner said preliminary results indicate full-year production of 356,943 ounces, up 36% from 2012, exceeding previous forecasts of 320,000 ounces.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mixed, as Lloyds Banking dropped 0.58% and the Royal Bank of Scotland retreated 0.72%, while HSBC Holdings edged up 0.16% and Barclays saw shares advance 0.65%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.11% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.03% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on factory orders, while the Institute of Supply Management was to release data on service sector activity.