European Stocks Flat As Economic Jitters Persist

(RTTNews) - European stocks were little changed Monday, giving back early gains amid fading enthusiasm for Friday's strong U.S. jobs report.

Markets are growing concerned that the U.S. Federal Reserve may raise interest rate much sooner than expected next year.

Weaker German manufacturing data also generated some anxiety in Europe.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks rose 0.17 percent, and is up less one percent year-to-date.

The German DAX and French CAC 40 were up just a few points, basically flat compared to the previous session, while the FTSE 100 added 0.55 percent.

BG Group added 2.5 percent. The energy firm received a $350 million payment from the Egyptian government, following its commitment to repay outstanding debts to the energy industry.

Air France-KLM lost 1.8 percent. Citigroup cut the stock to "Neutral" from "Buy.

Erste Group Bank AG rose on a buy recommendation from Goldman Sachs Group.

ICA Gruppen AB jumped 9.2 percent after Sweden's largest grocer sold its Norwegian unit to Coop Norway.

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA lost nearly 7 percent after saying it expects a loss due to hedging positions.

Nokia added 2.7 percent in Helsinki. The company said last year it received around $1 billion from Samsung Electronics as royalties.

In economic news, Germany's factory orders declined more than expected in August, figures from the Federal Statistical Office showed. Factory orders fell 5.7 percent month-over-month in August following the 4.9 percent rise in July. This was more than the 2.5 percent drop expected by economists.

Financial services firms in the U.K. recorded the fastest growth in business volume since 2007 in the three months to September, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry and PricewaterhouseCoopers said.

According to the 100th survey, 60 percent of the firms said that business volumes had increased while 11 percent said that business was down. This led to a balance of 49 percent, which was the highest since the 51 percent logged in 2007.