Investing.com - European stocks remained lower on Monday, after data showed that euro zone inflation held steady at a four-and-a-half year low in May, while concerns over violence in Irak continued to weigh on global equity markets.
During European afternoon trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 retreated 0.55%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.46%, while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.24%.
In a report, Eurostat said consumer price inflation rose 0.5% last month, in line with expectations and unchanged from a preliminary estimate. Euro zone inflation rose by 0.7% in April.
The rate remains firmly below the European Central Bank's target of near but just below 2%.
Meanwhile, concerns over the ongoing Sunni insurgency in Iraq continued to weigh on market sentiment, amid fears over the impact of reduced oil supply from one of the world’s largest producers on global growth.
Financial stocks were mixed, as Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) tumbled 1.36% and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) added 0.19% in France, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) dropped 0.49%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) lost 1.12% and 1.20% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) retreated 0.80% and 1.13%.
Elsewhere, Swiss biotech company Actelion (SIX:ATLN) soared 13.80% after it reported success with an experimental heart and lung drug called Selexipag.
In London, FTSE 100 fell 0.27%, still led by Smith & Nephew (LONDON:SN), down 2.43%, after would-be suitor Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) agreed to buy another orthopaedic rival, Covidien (NYSE:COV), instead.
Financial stocks also remained mostly lower, as Barclays dipped 0.02% and HSBC Holdings declined 0.47%, while Lloyds Banking tumbled 1.15%. The Royal Bank of Scotland continued to overperform however, climbing 0.53%.
In the mining sector, stocks pushed sharply higher. Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) saw shares jump 1.25% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) rallied 1.55%, while Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) surged 2% and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) led gains on the index, with shares up 2.54%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.28% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.32% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.33% loss.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on industrial production and manufacturing activity in the Empire State.