Investing.com - European stocks were mostly lower on Monday, as concerns over Greek debt negociations persisted although upbeat German data fuelled further optimism over the strength of the euro zone's biggest economy.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.36%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.63%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.22%.
Over the weekend European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to come up with alternative economic reforms "swiftly" so that negotiations could continue this week.
Athens delayed a key debt payment to the International Monetary Fund on Friday after Tsipras rejected the proposed reforms put forward by the EC as “absurd”.
Earlier Monday, official data showed that German industrial production rose 0.9% in April, exceeding expectations for a 0.5% gain. The change in industrial production for March was revised to 0.4% downtick from a previously estimated 0.5% fall.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) gained 0.43% and 0.69%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) rallied 1.29% and 7.80%.
Deutsche Bank was boosted after saying John Cryan will replace Anshu Jain as co-chief executive officer.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) rose 0.31% and 0.32%. Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) underperformed however, falling 0.18% and 0.70% respectively.
Elsewhere, Syngenta AG (SIX:SYNN) tumbled 1.33% as Monsanto Co. said it will pay a $2 billion breakup fee if its takeover offer for the Swiss company fails.
The announcement came after Syngenta said its U.S. suitor hasn’t convinced it of the merits of a merger and is just repeating the "same inadequate price."
In London, FTSE 100 edged up 0.11%, led by Diageo (LONDON:DGE), whose shares surged 6.93% amid reports Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann is considering a takeover bid.
In the mining sector, stocks were mixed. Fresnillo Plc (LONDON:FRES) saw shares rise 0.30% and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) gained 0.36%, while Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) fell 0.26% and 0.48% respectively.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mostly lower. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) slipped 0.22% and Lloyds (LONDON:LLOY) declined 0.37%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) dropped 0.39%. HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) overperformed on the other hand, adding 0.15%.
Shire Plc (LONDON:SHP) added to losses, with shares plummeting 2.20% after the Sunday Times reported that the company approached Actelion Ltd. for a merger in recent weeks.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% downtick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.07% loss.