European markets open lower as stocks pause after mega month - CNBC

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LONDON — European markets were mixed Monday morning as global stocks pause for breath following a bumper month on the back of positive vaccine news.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 edged 0.1% above the flatline by late morning, having opened in the red. Banks dropped 1.4% while retail stocks gained 1.1%.

European stocks are set for a mixed handover from Asia-Pacific, with mainland Chinese shares leading gains after China's National Bureau of Statistics announced Monday that the official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for November was at 52.1, exceeding expectations.

Stateside, stock futures dipped in overnight trading with Wall Street still set to close out a record-breaking month of gains.

Back in Europe, talks between the U.K. and the European Union are heading into a "very significant" week, British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said Sunday, with time running out for the two sides to iron out lingering disagreements over their post-Brexit trading relationship.

Meanwhile, investors will have one eye on this week's meeting of OPEC and allies, led by Russia, with the group of major oil-producing countries set to decide on whether to extend large production cuts into 2021.

In corporate news, the Financial Times reported on Saturday that HSBC is considering exiting its U.S. retail banking operations in a bid to improve performance in its North American business.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is due to speak at 11:30 a.m. CET and preliminary inflation data is due from Spain, Italy and Germany on Monday.

In terms of individual share price action, German manufacturer Kion Group jumped more than 11% after announcing a capital increase.

British sports retailer JD Sports climbed 7% in early trade after the company pulled back from a takeover deal with struggling department store Debenhams.

At the bottom of the European blue chip index, Dutch lender ABN Amro fell more than 6% after announcing that it will cut almost 3,000 jobs by 2024 in an effort to make cost savings.

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