European Markets Weakened At The Start Of The New Week

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended the first session of the new trading week with modest losses. The markets briefly turned positive this morning, but traded in negative territory for the majority of the session. The European markets logged their largest increase in a month at the end of the previous week, leading investors to take some profits.

Traders were disappointed by the unexpected decrease in Eurozone private sector data Monday. Commodity prices also struggled at the start of the week, as the U.S. dollar strengthened.

The risks of a de-anchoring of inflation expectations to below 1 percent or close to zero in the euro area have increased and hence, the central bank acted forcefully, ECB Executive Board member Peter Praet said in an interview to a newspaper, published Monday.

"We have seen in some countries some signs of de-anchoring in wage formation, Praet said in an interview with the Portuguese daily Publico.

"But, this being said, we haven't concluded that inflation expectations are de-anchored."

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 0.99 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.46 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped 0.74 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.66 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.14 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.51 percent.

In Frankfurt, pharmaceutical and chemicals giant Bayer fell 5.72 percent after making an all-cash offer to acquire U.S. agrochemicals firm Monsanto Co. for $62 billion.

Nordex lost 1.66 percent despite reporting a rise in Q1 profit and sales.

Aixtron soared 16.21 percent. China's Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund LP said it would make a voluntary public takeover offer to buy the German semiconductor equipment maker for about 670 million euros ($752 million), including net cash.

Daimler dropped 1.57 percent and BMW weakened by 0.93 percent. Volkswagen also slipped 0.58 percent.

In Paris, Peugeot surrendered 1.06 percent and Renault lost 1.14 percent. In London, Inmarsat decreased 4.04 percent after Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating on the stock to "Equal weight" from "Overweight."

RBC Capital Markets upgraded its rating on shares of Royal Mail to "Sector perform" from "Underperform." The stock finished higher by 4.29 percent.

Ryanair climbed 2.09 percent. The company's full year earnings per share were 115.63 euros, higher than 62.46 euros last year.

Novartis increased 2.60 percent in Zurich after new guidelines on the treatment of heart failure strongly endorsed the use of its drug Entresto.

Richemont declined 3.48 percent, after it was downgraded by JPMorgan and Citigroup.

Insurer Aegon dropped 1.13 percent in Amsterdam after announcing the sale of GBP 3 billion annuity liabilities to Legal & General.

Fiat Chrysler fell 4.44 percent in Milan on a report that the carmaker has used illegal software to manipulate pollution emissions of its vehicles.

Eurozone consumer confidence improved for a second straight month and at a faster-than-expected pace in May to its highest level in four months, preliminary data from the European Commission showed Monday. The flash consumer confidence index climbed to -7 from -9.3 in April. Economists had forecast a score of 9 for the month.

Eurozone private sector growth weakened to the lowest level in more than a year in May as improvements in Germany and France were offset by softening of activity outside the big-two economies. The flash composite output index fell unexpectedly to a 16-month low of 52.9 from 53 in April, the results of the Purchasing Managers' Survey by Markit Economics revealed Monday. The index was forecast to rise to 53.2.

Germany's private sector activity expanded at a faster pace in May, flash survey results from Markit showed Monday. The composite output index rose to a 5-month high of 54.7 in May from 53.6 in April.

The French private sector growth improved to a 7-month high in May, flash survey data from Markit showed Monday. The composite output index rose to 51.1 in May, a 7-month high, from 50.2 in April.

British exporters logged a moderate growth in the first quarter, the latest Quarterly International Trade Outlook from the British Chambers of Commerce and DHL showed Sunday. The trade confidence index increased by 1.4 percent sequentially to 116.04 in the first quarter. However, it dropped 4.4 percent from the prior year.