Bourses in Europe closed mixed on Monday afternoon as auto stocks slumped amid allegations of collusion.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 (^STOXX)closed down 0.24 percent with most sectors trading in negative territory. Wall Street also moved lower in anticipation of a series of earnings from big tech firms this week, including Alphabet (GOOGL) on Monday.
In Europe, the Auto sector was under pressure Monday after reports that the European Commission is investigating collusion between German carmakers. Volkswagen (XETRA:VOW3-DE) ended the day down 1.4 percent, Daimler (XETRA:DAI-DE) closed down 2.6 percent and Peugeot (: ) was lower by 1.3 percent. The European Commission said it received information on alleged collusion but it is still assessing the information. The probe could damage the sector's reputation further following the diesel emissions scandal.
Travel and leisure stocks also struggled on Monday after Ryanair (Irish Stock Exchange: RY4C-IE) reported second quarter earnings. Investors are worried about increased market competition in the winter months. The Irish airline warned it could cut its late summer fares by as much as 9 percent compared to last year. The stock was down more than 1.3 percent by the close of play.
Banking stocks were slightly higher as investors expect further monetary policy tightening in the U.S. later this week and digest earning news. Julius Baer (Swiss Exchange: BAER-CH) said Monday its assets under management grew 6 percent to $375.18 billion in the first half of 2017, roughly in line with analysts' forecasts. The Swiss bank closed higher by 4.4 percent.
It was retailer B&M European (London Stock Exchange: BME-GB) that closed the day at the top of the European benchmark, however. The stock rose 4.9 percent on reports that Walmart's U.K. unit Asda is considering a £4.4 billion ($5.7 billion) takeover bid.
Gemalto down 19%, Euro zone slows down
Reckitt Benckiser (London Stock Exchange: RB.-GB) announced that its full year target growth was a "challenging" one as the firm is still struggling to return to normal after a cyber attack. The episode led to a 2 percent fall in sales during the second-quarter of this year. The stock was down 3.2 percent.
The digital security firm Gemalto (Euronext Amsterdam: GTO-NL) fell by more than 19 percent after several rating downgrades. The firm issued its fourth profit warning since October last week.
Meanwhile, in France, the figures showed a slowdown in economic activity. IHS Markit's purchasing managers' survey dropped slightly to 55.7 from 56.6.
In the euro zone, economic activity also fell in July. The flash IHS Markit's monthly purchasing manager's index for the euro zone came in at 55.8 in July from 56.3 in June.