European Stocks Close Mostly Lower After Lackluster Session

(RTTNews) - European stocks ended mostly lower on Monday as investors largely refrained from making significant moves ahead of earnings announcement and central bank policy meetings due this week.

Also, with the U.S. market remaining closed for observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day, there were not any significant clues to trigger buying interest. Activity was mostly stock specific.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.14%. Among the major indices, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 0.3% and France's CAC 40 ended down 0.36%. Germany's DAX advanced 0.17%, while Switzerland's SMI edged up 0.04%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Russia and Turkey ended higher.

Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden declined, while Norway, Austria and Ukraine ended flat.

In the U.K. market, BAE Systems moved up nearly 4%. Barratt Developments, Berkeley, Persimmon, Samsung Electronics, Auto Trader Group and Fresenillo gained 1 to 2.3%.

Burberry Group, IAG, EasyJet, BT Group, Carnival, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Schroders, Johnson Matthey and British American Tobacco declined 1 to 2.3%.

In the French market, Louis Vuitton, Accor, Kering, Unibail Rodamco and Essilor Luxottica declined sharply, while Bouygues, Michelin, Thales, Veolia Environment and Publicis Groupe posted notable gains.

In Germany, Deutsche Bank, Lufthansa, Continental and MTU Aero declined 1 to 2.2%. On the other hand, Wirecard, Fresenius, Muench.Rueckvers, RWE and Henkel ended notably higher.

Quiagen shares rallied sharply on reports the company is in talks about a possible takeover.

The European Central Bank is scheduled to review its monetary policy on Thursday. It is widely expected that the bank will leave deposit rate unchanged.

According to the data published by property website Rightmove, house prices in the U.K. increased 2.3% in January, the highest since the record started in 2002.

A report from Destatis showed Germany's producer prices declined 0.2% year-on-year in December, slower than the 0.7% decrease seen in November. Economists had forecast a 0.3% decline in prices.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has cut the global growth forecast for this year and next, mainly due to the weaker-than-expected expansion in India. Global growth for this year is projected at 3.3%, which is 0.1 percentage point less than the forecast made in October.