European Equities Close Mixed in Monday Trading; Annual Inflation Declines in EU, Flat in Euro Area
The European stock markets closed mixed in Monday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 was unchanged, Germany's DAX rose 0.58%, the FTSE 100 gained 0.17%, France's CAC 40 was off 0.04%, and the Swiss Market Index was up 0.18%.
The euro area annual inflation rate was 2.2% in April, which was unchanged from March and down from 2.4% a year earlier, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. EU annual inflation declined to 2.4% in April from 2.5% in March and 2.6% a year earlier. Both measures met analyst forecasts, according to Bloomberg.
The lowest annual inflation rates were in France (0.9%), Cyprus (1.4%) and Denmark (1.5%), while the highest annual rates were in Romania (4.9%), Estonia (4.4%) and Hungary (4.2%). Compared with March, annual inflation fell in 13 member countries, remained unchanged in three, and rose in 11.
In the UK, the S&P Global UK Consumer Sentiment Index survey rose to 45.2 in May from 44.5 in April. Despite the increase, overall sentiment across UK households remained negative as the index continues to languish below the 50.0-point level that separates optimism from pessimism.
And in corporate news, shares of Volkswagen dropped more than 5% in Monday trading on DAX in Frankfurt after Reuters reported that the German automaker is considering a plan to divest its design and engineering unit Italdesign, citing union representatives.
Volkswagen did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MT Newswires.
Source : MT Newswires
