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European markets close slightly lower as investors await inflation data

City of London skyline view looking over the River Thames and Waterloo Bridge at sunset on 10th February 2024 in London, United Kingdom.
Mike Kemp | In Pictures | Getty Images

This was CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

European markets closed lower on Monday, with investors turning their attention to regional inflation data and to Nvidia earnings due this week.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed 0.1% lower though it pared steeper losses toward the end of the day. Sectors were mixed, with retail stocks falling 0.88% as miners jumped closed 0.6% higher.

Markets had closed lower on Friday, with the Stoxx 600 recording its fourth consecutive weekly decline.

This week, investors will be looking to several key regional data points, including the latest inflation data out of the U.K. on Wednesday. The figures come after Friday's U.K. gross domestic product reading, which came in at 0.1% in the third quarter, falling short of expectations.

A final reading of the euro zone consumer price index is also due this week. A slew of purchasing managers' index reports from across the region are slated for Friday.

Before then, several central bank policymakers, including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, are set to give remarks, which investors will be parsing through for hints about whether the ECB will announce another interest rate cut when it meets in December.

Asia-Pacific stocks mostly rose to start the week.

U.S. stocks saw a mixed open, with the Nasdaq Composite up 0.2% as automaker Tesla's shares gained 7%.

Attention stateside will this week turn to earnings from tech giant Nvidia, with investors especially looking for guidance about the company's Blackwell AI chips.

Europe stocks close lower

European stocks closed slightly lower on Monday, with the regional Stoxx 600 index ending 0.1% lower in its second straight decline.

That was despite the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbing 0.57%, and with mining stocks and financial services among the top-performing sectors.

France's CAC 40 also closed higher, up 0.12%, while Germany's DAX lost 0.18%.

— Jenni Reid

Stocks on the move: Vistry Group down 6%

Vistry Group was down 5.8% in late afternoon deals after the British homebuilder defended its appointment of Greg Fitzgerald as both executive chair and chief executive of the company.

Shareholders had expressed concerns following the appointment in May over the fact that combining the roles departs from the U.K.'s Corporate Governance Code.

Vistry said Monday it recognized "the importance of maintaining independent oversight in Board leadership positions." It added that it had elected a senior independent director to provide additional oversight on governance and provide an "alternative point of communication for investors and the other Non-Executive Directors." It said it will publish an evaluation of the impact of the combined roles as part of its results next March.

Vistry's projected 18,000 builds this year are set to make it Britain's largest housebuilder by completions, according to Housing Today.

The firm's shares plunged 15% in a single session earlier this month after it issued its second full-year profit warning in a month.

— Jenni Reid

Nasdaq opens slightly higher

The Nasdaq Composite opened slightly higher Monday, adding 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 105 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P 500 hovered near the flatline.

— Samantha Subin

B&M shares fall over 6% after retailer launches £250 million senior secured notes offering

Shares of B&M European fell by more than 6% on Monday after the British retailer announced that it was launching a £250 million ($316 million) senior secured notes offering — a type of bond sale to raise money from investors.

At around 1 p.m. London time, B&M shares were 6.34% lower, declining to levels last seen around two years ago, according to LSEG data, and falling to the bottom of the Stoxx 600 index.

The company said it was planning to use proceeds from the notes in the offering to repay existing debt and to increase the number of its stores as well as inventory after recent shipping disruptions.

— Sophie Kiderlin

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Economic growth concerns now more prominent than fears about high inflation, ECB's De Guindos says

The Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Luis de Guindos, speaks during the new edition of the Vanguard Forums, at the ONCE Auditorium, on 14 March, 2024 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. 
Europa Press News | Europa Press | Getty Images
The Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Luis de Guindos, speaks during the new edition of the Vanguard Forums, at the ONCE Auditorium, on 14 March, 2024 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. 

Luis de Guindos, vice-president of the European Central Bank, on Monday suggested that concerns about economic growth are now more prominent than fears about elevated inflation.

"If you look at where we are now compared with a year ago, the balance of macro-risks has shifted from concerns about high inflation to fears over economic growth," he said in a speech at the Frankfurt Euro Finance Week.

While the consumer price index has moved closer to the central bank's 2% target, economic activity has fallen short of expectations, prompting the ECB to revise its projections lower, he explained.

Preliminary data showed that euro zone inflation came in at 2% in October, just ahead of expectations and above September's 1.7%. In September, the ECB said it had revised its forecast for the annual gross domestic product for the euro zone down slightly to 0.8% in 2024.

"The growth outlook is clouded by uncertainty about economic policies and the geopolitical landscape, both in the euro area and globally. Trade tensions could rise further, increasing the risk of tail events materialising," he said. "These cyclical headwinds compound structural issues of low productivity and weak potential euro area growth."

— Sophie Kiderlin

Euro zone posts 12.5 billion euro trade surplus in September

The euro zone in September recorded a 12.5 billion euro ($13.2 billion) trade surplus according to a first estimate, statistics agency Eurostat said Monday.

A year earlier, the trade surplus was 9.8 billion euros.

Exports from the euro area to the rest of the world came to 237.8 billion euros in September, up 0.6% from a year earlier, while imports totaled 225.3 billion euros, 0.6% lower than in September 2023.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Biggest risers: Bavarian Nordic, Melrose Industries

Around two hours into the trading day, Bavarian Nordic was among the biggest gainers on the pan-European Stoxx 600.

Shares in the pharmaceutical company were last up 8.37%, paring some of the losses recorded Friday when shares closed over 17% lower. This came after Bavarian Nordic reported an annual dip in third-quarter revenue amid volatile demand for its mpox vaccine.

Meanwhile, shares in Melrose Industries added 8.35%. The aerospace company on Monday issued a trading update, saying its revenue rose 7% in the four months from the beginning of July to the end of October compared to the same period a year earlier.

CEO Peter Dilnot said it was "encouraging" that the company was set to deliver on its full-year expectations "despite the industry-wide supply chain challenges."

— Sophie Kiderlin

Trump tariffs could shake up global trade, but have limited impact on inflation, ECB's Nagel says

Trade tariffs proposed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump "could mark a significant turning point for the international system of trade," but their impact on inflation could be limited, European Central Bank policymaker Joachim Nagel said Monday.

During his campaign, Trump said he would to introduce blanket tariffs on goods exported to the U.S., no matter where they came from.

Protectionist measures like tariffs — which Nagel said have been increasing among all G20 nations — could impact geoeconomics and global integration, the ECB policymaker indicated, noting that a reversal of the latter could lead to increased inflationary pressures.

However, "although empirical studies show that the effect of global integration on domestic price dynamics is statistically significant, it appears to be economically small," Nagel said.

"In other words, while we can be quite sure about the direction of this impact, its magnitude seems minor. Accordingly, global integration would have to decrease substantially to cause a noticeable rise in inflationary pressures. And, so far, we have not seen this," he explained.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Ukraine's GDP grows 1.3% in October as construction, transport shine

Ukraine's economy grew by 1.3% year-on-year in October, the country's ministry of economy said in a Google-translated update on Monday, citing support from the transport and construction sectors. It comes after a 3.8% increase year-on-year in September.

The GDP of war-battered Ukraine picked up by 4.2% annually in the January-October period. The economy ministry previously forecast real GDP growth of 3.5% by the end of 2024.

The transport and construction industries emerged as growth drivers in October, according to First Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksiy Sobolev.

"Thanks to the implementation of recovery programs and increased demand for construction work, the construction industry continues to demonstrate upward dynamics. Among the drivers of the growth of the country's economy is also transport — primarily thanks to the stable operation of the grain corridor. Finally, the demand for the products of the processing industry, in particular the defense industry sector, determines the growth in this industry," he said, while nevertheless noting a seasonal decline in agricultural activity due to the end of harvest.

Ruxandra Iordache

European markets mixed as trading begins

European markets were mixed as the trading week kicked off on Monday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 down 0.07% shortly after the session opened.

Oil and gas and tech stocks dipped around 0.3% each, while mining shares added around 0.5%.

Regional bourses were mixed, with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX inching higher, while France's CAC 40 retreated slightly and Italy's FTSE MIB fell close to 1%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

German exports rise 0.5% in third quarter

German exports rose 0.5% in the third quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, the country's statistics office Destatis said Monday, coming to 384 billion euros ($405 billion).

The value of goods sent to countries in the European Union and euro zone fell by 1% and 1.5% respectively in the three months to the end of September, while exports to countries outside the European Union rose 2.2%.

The U.S. was the most important trade partner outside the EU, with exports rising by 3.8% to 41.4 billion euros in the third quarter. Exports to China, meanwhile, fell 9.4% to 21.8 billion euros.

— Sophie Kiderlin

European stocks set to rise at market open

European stocks were last set to rise at the market open on Monday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was last on track to start the day 15 points higher at 8,084, Germany's DAX was set to add 56 points to 19,278 and the French CAC 40 was due to rise 23 points to around 7,299. Italy's FTSE MIB was also on track to open higher, adding 158 points to 34,060.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Samsung shares climb more than 7% after surprise $7 billion buyback plan

Shares of Samsung Electronics jumped on Monday after the company unveiled a surprise plan to buy back about 10 trillion South Korean won ($7.19 billion) worth of its own stock over the next 12 months.

The South Korean tech giant's stock rose more than 7% in Seoul, after shares had already surged 7.21% on Friday, following news that the company reached a preliminary agreement with its largest workers union, which went on strike in July.

Samsung last bought back shares in November 2017, according to data maintained by LSEG.

In a regulatory filing, the company said that 3 trillion won of shares will be initially bought back in the next three months and canceled.

Read the full story here.

— Lim Hui Jie

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