Investing.com - European stocks edged higher on Monday, helped by rising oil prices and as markets continued to digest Friday’s downbeat U.S. economic reports.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged 0.11% higher, France’s CAC 40 added 0.12%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.20%.
Concerns over the strength of the world’s biggest economy mounted after the U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday that retail sales were flat in July, compared expectations for a 0.4% rise. Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, fell by 0.3% in July.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer prices fell by 0.4% last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.1% rise. Year-over-year, producer prices decreased by 0.2%.
But oil prices moved higher on Monday, supported by growing hopes of production cuts by exporting countries.
French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) gained 0.47% and Norway’s Statoil (OL:STL) climbed 0.67%, while Russian rival Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) added 0.25%.
Financial stocks were mixed, as BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) rose 0.20% and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) slipped 0.22% in France, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) advanced 0.33% and 0.72%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) fell 0.28% and 0.49%. Italian stock markets were closed for a national holiday.
Elsewhere, Lufthansa AG VNA O.N. (DE:LHAG) saw shares tumble 0.91% after the airline company and the pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit said on Saturday that they broke off talks over pay and early retirement terms after months of negotiations.
In London, FTSE 100 inched up 0.08%, helped by G4S PLC (LON:GFS) whose shares surged 2.60% after the security firm confirmed on Monday the appointment of Tim Weller as its new finance chief.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mostly lower as Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) dipped 0.04% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) fell 0.28%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) lost 1.04%. Barclays (LON:BARC) overperformed however, with shares climbing 0.52%.
In the mining sector, stocks were also broadly lower. Shares in Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) slipped 0.18% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) declined 0.43%, while rival Glencore (LON:GLEN) tumbled 1.71%.
Sage Group (LON:SGE) was one of the worst performers on the index, with shares down 3.45% following news that the data of about 280 of the company’s customers could have been compromised by a security breach.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.18% increase, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.16% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.17% rise.