Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Monday, even as upbeat U.S. data on Friday lifted market sentiment and expectations for fresh easing measures by the European Central Bank supported European equities.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 dropped 0.77%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.64%, while Germany’s DAX declined 0.74%.
Concerns over the outlook for growth in the U.S. eased after a report on Friday showed that the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index unexpectedly rose to 86.4 in October, the most since July 2007.
Another report showed that housing starts rose more than expected last month, bolstering the outlook for the sector.
On Thursday, ECB official Ewald Nowotny said the bank still has leeway for more action to address slowing inflation in the euro area and added that quantitative easing would start as soon as December.
Financial stocks were mixed to lower, as BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) inched up 0.01% and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) slid 0.35% in France, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) rose 0.33%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) fell 0.23% and 0.32% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) declined 0.53% and 2.73% respectively.
Elsewhere, SAP (XETRA:SAPG) plunged 4.07% after the world’s largest supplier of business-management software cut its full-year earnings forecast.
On the upside, Nutreco (AMS:NUO) saw shares skyrocket 38.96% after trading company SHV agreed to buy the Dutch fish-feed maker.
In London, FTSE 100 slipped 0.32%, weighed by losses in the energy sector.
Shares in BP (LONDON:BP) declined 0.33% and Tullow Oil (LONDON:TLW) lost 1.53%, while rival Petrofac (LONDON:PFC) saw shares plummet 2.22%, leading losses on the index.
Mining stocks were also on the downside, as Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) edged down 0.10% and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) slid 0.30%, while Vedanta Resources (LONDON:VED) shed 0.37% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) retreated 0.80%.
In the financial sector, stocks were mostly lower. Shares in Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) slid 0.33% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) dropped 0.82%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) tumbled 1.07%. Barclays (LONDON:BARC) edged up 0.19%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.19% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.19% gain, while the NASDAQ 100 futures indicated a 0.29% increase.