Investing.com - European stocks were mixed on Monday, as hopes for fresh easing measures by the European Central Bank continued to support, while concerns over tensions between Russia and Ukraine persisted.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.28%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.01%, while Germany’s DAX inched up 0.07%.
In a report, Markit research group said that Spain's manfacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to 52.8 last month, from a reading of 53.9 in July, compared to expectations for a slip to 53.1.
For Italy, Markit's manufacturing PMI fell to 49.8 last month, from a reading of 51.9 in July, confounding expectations for a decline to 50.8.
Data earlier confirmed that Germany’s economy contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter, in line with forecasts and unchanged from a preliminary estimate.
Slowing growth in Germany looked likely to add to pressure on the ECB to implement fresh measures to shore up the faltering recovery in the euro area.
Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor the situation in Ukraine ahead of negotiations due to take place later in the day between Ukrainian and Russian officials and pro-Russian separatists after talks last week resulted in no major breakthrough.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) declined 0.56% and 1.10%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) retreated 0.89%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) slid 0.38% and 0.75% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) lost 0.40% and 0.47%.
Elsewhere, Iliad saw shares plunge 3.92% amid reports the French provider of telecommunication services is currently in talks with private-equity firms to team up and make an improved offer for Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile US unit.
In London, FTSE 100 slipped 0.12%, weighed by Tesco (LONDON:TSCO), whose shares plummeted 1.58% after Harris Associates, one of the supermarket group's biggest shareholders, said it had more than halved its stake in the business, saying it was operating an "incoherent strategy" with "unclear management direction".
Financial stocks were also mostly lower, as the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) dropped 0.57% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) slid 0.58%, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) declined 0.62%. Barclays (LONDON:BARC) overperformed however, gaining 0.63%.
In the mining sector, stocks were mostly on the upside. Shares in Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) added 0.19% and Vedanta Resources (LONDON:VED) rose 0.20%, while Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) gained 0.31% and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) jumped 0.90%.
In the U.S., markets were to remain closed for the Labor Day holiday.