Investing.com - European stocks were steady to lower on Monday, as investors remained cautious following Friday’s downbeat U.S. jobs data and a oil prices moved back lower.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.24%, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.20%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.18%.
The U.S. Labor Department said on Friday that the economy added 156,000 jobs in September, compared to expectations for 175,000. The unemployment rate ticked up to 5.0% last month from 4.9% in August.
However, the disappointing data was not expected to prevent the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates later this year.
Energy-related stocks were affected by the drop in oil prices on Monday, as French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) retreated 0.43% and Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) slipped 0.15%, while Norwegian rival Statoil (OL:STL) declined 0.36%.
Financial stocks added to losses, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) lost 0.89% and 1.06%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) plummeted 2.02% and 2.96%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) dropped 0.48% and 1.32% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) slid 0.59% and 0.96%.
E.ON SE NA (DE:EONGn) was also on the downside, with shares retreating 0.46% after the company came under renewed criticism over the weekend from investors who compared its breakup strategy unfavorably with that of RWE AG (DE:RWEG).
RWE AG ST O.N. (DE:RWEG) shares tumbled 1.51% after the renewables unit, Innogy, made its debut on the stock exchange Friday, marking the largest IPO in Germany since 2000.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 inched up 0.02%, helped by sharp gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) climbed 0.50% and Frenillo jumped 1.62%, while rival company Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) rallied 1.84%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mostly lower. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) lost 1.62% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) tumbled 1.68%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) plunged 2.07%. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) held steady, with shares inching up just 0.03%.
EasyJet PLC (LON:EZJ) was one of the worst performers on the index, with shares diving 3.40% as thousands of passengers were left stranded abroad over the weekend after the airline cancelled all its flights going in and out of Greece due to a planned four-day strike by air traffic control.
The airliner was already hit last week after warning that it was preparing for a £90 million profit hit this year due to the plunge in the pound.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.17% rise, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.19% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.16% increase.