Forexpros –
Forexpros – European stocks closed lower Monday, as hopes for fresh easing measures by the European Central Bank subsided, while traders anticipate a series of meetings between euro zone leaders throughout the week.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.21%, France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.22%, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased lower by 0.10%.
Traders were cautious after Germany’s Finance Ministry said it was not aware of any ECB plans to target euro zone bond spreads, following media reports that the central bank may set limits on the yields of euro zone government bonds.
German magazine Der Spiegel reported Sunday that the ECB may set an interest rate threshold on purchases of euro-area sovereign debt at its next policy meeting in September, beyond which its bond buying program would be activated.
The ECB declined to comment on the report.
But sentiment remained supported as Luxemburg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also heads the group of euro zone finance ministers, was to hold talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Wednesday, to discuss a two-year extension of the country’s economic reform program.
Italian lenders continued to lead gains in the financial sector, with Intesa Sanpaolo surging 3.92% and Unicredit rallying 3.15%.
In France, shares in Societe Generale pushed higher, rising 0.51%, while BNP Paribas dropped 0.40%.
Meanwhile, German lenders turned lower, as Commerzbank declined 0.40% and Deutsche Bank retreated 0.52% amid reports it is among four European banks being investigated by U.S. regulators for alleged money-laundering violations.
Elsewhere, Heineken saw shares rally 1.37% after it raised its offer for Asia Pacific Breweries.
In London, FTSE 100 fell 0.48%, after industry data showed that house prices in the U.K. declined by 2.4% in August.
Eurasian Natural Resources extended earlier losses, plummeting 3.49%, as the mining company was still weighed by last week’s announcement that first-half profit plunged 59%, as revenues were hurt by a decline in commodity prices and a challenging economic environment.
Rival firm Rio Tinto also pushed lower, with shares tumbling 1.61%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys dove 3.58% and 2.43% respectively.
On the upside, alcoholic beverages company Diageo gained 0.62% after the Sunday Times reported it is close to a deal to buy Jose Cuervo for USD3 billion.
In the financial sector, stocks remained mixed. Shares in Lloyds Banking soared 2.31% and Barclays rallied 1.37%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 0.89% and HSBC Holdings edged down 0.15%.
Separately, the Sunday Telegraph reported over the weekend that HSBC Holdings is willing to “fight to the death” to prevent U.K. regulators from attempting to force it to stop paying its dividend in order to preserve capital.
In the U.S., stocks followed lower with the Dow down 0.06%, the broad based S&P 500 off by 0.18% and the tech heavy Nasdaq slipping 0.10%
Trade looked likely to remain subdued on Tuesday, with no significant economic data releases on the calendar, while volumes were light with many market participants on summer holidays.
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