On Monday, European stocks exhibited mixed performance, following their achievement of two-year highs in the last trading session. This was spurred by encouraging quarterly earnings reports and indications of a deceleration in inflation in the Eurozone.
The collective European stock index, STOXX 600, experienced a minor increase, recording 484.31 made prior to incoming economic data, significant technology company earnings, and crucial decisions from the central banks of the United States and the United Kingdom expected within the week.
Investors are closely monitoring incoming data such as the Chinese factory activity report, US monthly employment statistics, and preliminary Eurozone growth figures for the fourth quarter.
In terms of individual markets, the German DAX fell by 0.4 percent, while the French CAC 40 saw a modest rise of 0.1 percent. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 index improved by 0.3 percent.
In business news, Swiss construction materials company, Holcim, saw its shares spike by 4.3 percent following its announcement to make its North American operations independent through an initial public offering. Conversely, Ukrainian iron ore pellet producer Ferrexpo saw a 2.6 percent decrease in its share price after an appeals court in Ukraine upheld a claim against the company amounting to approximately $125 million.
Low-cost airline Ryanair experienced a 2 percent decrease in its shares after reducing its annual profit expectations for the fiscal year ending in March. Dutch medical device manufacturer Philips also saw its shares decline by 5 percent due to its decision to suspend new sales of sleep machines in the United States, following repeated recalls that have impacted its financial performance.
The German pharmaceutical behemoth Bayer experienced a 4.8 percent reduction in its share price following a ruling by a US court that the company would pay $2.25 billion in damages to a former user of its Roundup product.
Finally, shares of satellite firm Eutelsat fell impressively by 16 percent after it revised its annual revenue projections downwards.
