European shares muted ahead of data-heavy week; tech stocks slide
By Pranav Kashyap
(Reuters) -European shares were flat on Monday ahead of a raft of key economic data set to unfold through the week, while the technology sector kept gains in check.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat at 518.22, as of 0830 GMT. On Friday, the benchmark touched a more than three-week high and logged a third straight weekly gain.
The technology sector was the biggest drag on the benchmark, declining 0.3%. The focus was on AI darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA )'s second-quarter results, due Wednesday.
Almost all regional bourses were trading in the red.
The German benchmark fell the most among peers, losing 0.3%, as a survey showed business morale for Europe's largest economy fell in August. The economy's detailed GDP figures are due on Tuesday.
Switzerland's non-farm payrolls rose 1.3% for the second quarter. The Swiss benchmark ticked 0.1% higher.
London markets are closed for a holiday.
Eurozone industrial and economic sentiment, Spanish flash consumer prices, German retail sales, and preliminary consumer prices reports are due this week.
The flash estimates for EU inflation, French and Italian preliminary consumer prices, German employment data, and U.S. personal consumption expenditure data are scheduled for Friday.
At the U.S. Federal Reserve's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole ECB chief economist Philip Lane said, that while the European Central Bank is making "good progress" in reducing inflation to its 2% target, success is not yet assured, so restrictive monetary policy is still needed.
European policymakers' cautious stance was in contrast to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks, who signalled a likely interest rate cut in September.
"Europe is sort of the Canary in the coal mine of the interest rate cut story... There's some tension between the ECB's stance and the weakness of the economy," Ben Laidler, head of equity strategy at Bradesco BBI said.
"European inflation data on Friday is important because markets are pricing the ECB to go significantly slower than the Fed and that's been holding back European stocks a bit."
The ECB will meet on Sept. 12, to take a call on borrowing costs, while markets have fully priced in a 25-basis-point cut.
Losses in STOXX 600 were kept in check by rate-sensitive real estate stocks, which was the top performer among sectors, gaining 0.6%
Among individual stocks, Telecom Italia (BIT:TLIT ) rose 3% on a report that Italian banker Claudio Costamagna, is working on a plan to gather a group of investors potentially interested in buying France's Vivendi (OTC:VIVHY ) shares in the telecoms group.
Source: Investing.com
