European Stocks Mixed, While Oil Retreats
European stock markets struggled to find direction on Monday, with investors waiting for corporate results and economic data later in the week.
London's FTSE 100 index remained in the red, while Frankfurt and Paris climbed back into the black in midday trading.
"The rising cases of the delta variant is a major cause for concern even as the UK’s full re-opening plan is likely to go ahead," said UK-based ThinkMarkets.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
"But it does raise questions over how the summer holidays will be impacted and by extension the global recovery," he said.
Earlier, Asian equities had rallied after New York set fresh records on Friday.
On Monday, however, the Dow Jones index swung between gains and losses in morning trade.
Oil prices retreated following a two-day advance, on concerns that new virus spikes could dent demand for the commodity as governments are forced to impose fresh containment measures.
There was some cheer from news that the People's Bank of China had cut the amount of cash banks must keep in reserve, which it said would loosen about $154 billion (130 billion euro) into the world's number two economy.
However, analysts are worried that investors may be getting a little over-reliant on the ultra-loose monetary policies of central banks.
Traders will check US inflation data later this week for clues on future interest rate hikes, and go over Chinese second-quarter growth figures and half-year results by US banks.
Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell is also to deliver a policy report to US lawmakers, which will be closely watched for an idea about its rate-tightening plans also in light of the economy's strong recovery and spiking virus cases.
The week constitutes the start of the latest US corporate earnings season, with results from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan.
On Friday, all three main US stocks indices closed at new peaks owing to optimism that the global rebound will continue next year despite worries that vaccines are not being rolled out fast enough in parts of the world as the Delta variant spreads.
Britain, the United States and Europe are all seeing jumps in new cases, though deaths remain low and hospitalizations are manageable for now.
- Key figures around 1330 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,102.72 points
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.2 percent at 15,718.21
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 6,536.06
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 4,078.28
New York - DOW: FLAT at 34,863.31
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: 2.3 percent at 28,569.02 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 27,515.24 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,547.84 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1857 from $1.1881 at 2100 GMT Friday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3860 from $1.3902
Euro/pound: UP at 85.55 from 85.43 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 110.19 from 110.03 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.3 percent at $74.59 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.3 percent at $73.58 per barrel
Source: Agence France Presse
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