Investing.com - European stocks were mostly lower on Monday, after data showed that Japan’s economy fell into a recession and as markets eyed comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi later in the day.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 slipped 0.20%, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.11%, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.23%.
Global equities weakened after official data showed that Japan’s gross domestic product contracted by an annualized 1.6% in the third quarter, following a 7.3% decline in the previous quarter. Economists had forecast a 2.3% increase.
On Friday, data showed that the euro zone's economy expanded 0.2% in the three months to September and grew 0.6% from the same period a year earlier.
Germany avoided a recession, posting growth of 0.1% in the last quarter, while France grew by a slightly stronger than expected 0.3%. Greece exited a six-year recession, but Italy fell back into recession, posting a contraction of 0.1%.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) slipped 0.06% and 0.16%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) tumbled 1.20%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) fell 0.14% and 0.50% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) declined 0.53% and 0.61%.
Elsewhere, Airbus Group (PARIS:AIR) saw shares plummet 1.49% after reporting on Friday third-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates.
In London, FTSE 100 fell 0.11%
Financial stocks were mixed, as Barclays (LONDON:BARC) inched up 0.02% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) added 0.13%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) slipped 0.14% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) tumbled 1.07%.
In the mining sector, stocks were broadly higher. Shares in Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) climbed 0.58% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) gained 0.78%, while rivals Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) jumped 1% and 1.04% respectively.
CSR Plc (LONDON:CSR) edged up 0.06% following reports Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) doesn't plan to make an offer for the U.K. chipmaker that agreed to be bought by Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) a month ago for about $2.4 billion.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.16% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled an 0.16% loss, while the NASDAQ 100 futures indicated a 0.12% fall.
Later in the day, ECB President Mario Draghi was to testify on monetary policy in the European Parliament in Brussels. The U.S. was to release a report on manufacturing activity in the New York region, as well as data on industrial production.