Forexpros – European stock markets closed mixed in volatile trade Monday, as investors remained cautious amid sustained worries over the outlook for global economic growth and the worsening of the euro zone’s financial crisis.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.50%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.14%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gave back 1.19%.
Stock bearish sentiment was sparked after the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Friday that the economy added just 69,000 jobs in May, far below expectations for a gain of 150,000, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.2% from 8.1%.
Adding to the negative environment, U.S. factory orders fell unexpectedly in April, declining for the second consecutive month, official data showed on Monday.
In a report, the U.S. Census Bureau said factory orders fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in April, defying expectations for a 0.2% gain.
Factory orders in March fell by 2.1%. The figure was revised from a previously repotted decline of 1.9%.
The weak data added to concerns over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery and fuelled speculation over the possibility of a third round of quantitative easing from the Fed.
Investors were also eyeing developments in the euro zone, after data showed that unemployment in the single currency bloc rose to a record high of 11% in April and as fears that Spain may soon require an international bailout persisted.
Concerns over a deeper-than-expected slowdown in China also weighed amid fading hopes for a large-scale stimulus package to boost slowing growth in the world’s second largest economy.
Europe’s second biggest airline, Deutsche Lufthansa, remained on the downside, as shares fell 0.29% after Financial Times Deutschland reported the company plans to sell its profitable LSG Sky Chefs catering unit to concentrate on its main businesses.
The German airline also plans to dispose of its profitable information-technology Services unit, the newspaper said.
Affected by China’s slowdown, auto makers added to losses, as shares in Volkswagen tumbled 2.79% and Daimler declined 1.86%, while BMW retreated 1.81%.
In bullish news, financial stocks extended earlier gains, led by Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit, up 5.26% and 4.48% respectively. French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe General also climbed 371% and 2.79%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank advanced 3.28%.
Investors were also focusing on events in Paris, where Jerome Kerviel’s appeal against a guilty verdict holding him solely responsible for Societe Generale’s EUR4.9 billion trading loss opened on Monday morning.
Societe Generale announced the trading loss in January 2008 and Kerviel was convicted in 2010. He was sentenced to five years in jail, with two years suspended, and ordered to repay the bank its loss.
Markets in the U.K. remained closed due to a national holiday.
In the U.S., equity markets traded lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.53%, S&P 500 traded down 0.82, while the tech heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.53%.
Also Monday, data showed that investor confidence in the euro zone for June deteriorated to the lowest level since July 2009, remaining in negative territory for the 11th consecutive month.
Investors are awaiting the U.S. ISM non manufacturing index, the Canadian and Australian interest rate decision, as well as German factory orders on Tuesday.
&nb
Forexpros
