Investing.com - European stocks were mostly higher on Monday, although concerns over geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine continued to dominate market attention.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 edged up 0.06%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.23%, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.16%.
In Gaza, fighting slightly subsided on Sunday after Hamas Islamist militants said they backed a 24-hour humanitarian truce in light of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.
Meanwhile, the European Union agreed to impose economic sanctions against Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis. Moscow reacted to the sanctions by warning that they would hamper cooperation on global security issues.
Financial stocks were mixed, as BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) gained 0.40% and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) slipped 0.19% in France, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) declined 0.82%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) added 0.04% and 0.21% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) fell 0.09% and 0.30%.
Elsewhere, Danone (PARIS:DANO) rallied 1.98% amid reports the French consumer products maker is in talks with Hospira as a potential buyer for a medical nutrition unit.
On the downside, Wincor Nixdorf (XETRA:WING) saw shares plunge 9.74% after the maker of automated teller machines posted third-quarter revenue that misses analysts' estimates.
In London, FTSE 100 inched up 0.05%, led by Reckitt Benckiser, up 2.81%, after the company said it plans to spin off its pharmaceutical business.
Ryanair (LONDON:RYA) added to gains, surging 4.54% after the airliner lifted its fiscal full-year profit goal and posted first-quarter profit that more than doubled.
Mining stocks were also on the upside, as Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) added 0.13% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) climbed 0.73%, while Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) jumped 1.98%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mixed. Shares in Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) slid 0.39% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS)plummeted 2.03%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) advanced 0.44% and 0.59% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.10% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.10% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.03% dip.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on pending home sales.