Investing.com – European stocks showed mixed trade on Monday with the German DAX heading for a record closing high as investors digested a slew of manufacturing data.
Nearing midday trade in Europe, the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 edged forward 0.07%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.06% and Germany’s DAX 30 traded up 0.33%.
The German benchmark was leading Europe’s stock markets higher and had already broken through its previous record close logged in 2015.
That came as euro zone factory growth hit nearly a six-year high in March according to the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) released by Markit on Monday.
Germany led the region in manufacturing growth though France and Italy also saw stronger growth.
The U.K. was an exception that saw the activity unexpectedly slow in March.
A private survey on China's manufacturing on Saturday came in below market expectations but still showed a healthy expansion after a similar survey by the government on Friday pointed to strong growth in the sector.
The U.S. will get its own reading on the manufacturing sector from the Institute of Supply Management at 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT).
On the company front, Banco Popular (MC:POP) led decliners on the Stoxx 600 with losses of nearly 5% as the Spanish financial institution said it will need to correct its accounts for previous years after an internal audit.
In another huge downward move, shares of Imagination Technologies Group (LON:IMG) crashed 60% as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced that it planned to stop using graphics from the British chip-designer.
Meanwhile, oil prices wavered between small gains and losses in European trading on Monday after reaching the strongest level in almost four weeks amid optimism that OPEC will extend its production-cut deal beyond June.
Energy stocks traded mostly higher, as French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) ledged forward 0.08% and Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) gained 0.59%, and Norwegian rival Statoil (OL:STL) rose 0.89%.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) slumped 1.51% and 1.82%, respectively, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) lost only 0.33% while rival Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) sank 2.17%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) was unchanged and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) gained 0.42%, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) traded down 3.54% and 0.84%, respectively.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.13%.
Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) lost 0.13%, Anglo American (LON:AAL) fell 0.37%, while BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) advanced 0.20% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) traded up 0.45%.
Energy stocks climbed, as BP (LON:BP) rose 1.13% and rival Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) gained 0.60%.
Financial stocks showed mixed trade, with shares in HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) unchanged and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) fell 0.58%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) slumped 1.07%. Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) broke the general trend, trading up 0.26%.
In the U.S., futures pointed to a flat to higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures inched up 0.08%, S&P 500 futures edged forward 0.04%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.08%.