European Markets Finished Mostly Higher After Another Choppy Session

(RTTNews) - The European markets endured another choppy trading session Monday, but finished with modest gains. Global growth concerns have made investors cautious after U.S. retail sales data came in weaker than expected last week Friday and Japanese GDP numbers disappointed today.

Energy stocks were among the gainers at the start of the new week, as crude oil prices rise on continued hopes for a production cap when OPEC nations hold talks in September. Automotive companies were also in demand Monday.

Japan's gross domestic product was flat on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis in the second quarter of 2016, the Cabinet Office said on Monday. That missed expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the 0.5 percent increase in the first quarter.

The surprise U.K. vote to leave the European Union is set to have limited impact on the German economy as business expectations remained strong, Bundesbank said in its latest monthly report on Monday.

Despite the ongoing intense debate on the economic impact of the British vote, the German companies' positive expectations were only slightly dampened, the bank said in the report.

This supports the view that economic impact of the "Brexit" is likely to be within narrow limits, at least in the short term, the bank added.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.06 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.06 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.13 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 0.24 percent, but the CAC 40 of France fell 0.05 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.36 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.12 percent.

In Frankfurt, Volkswagen increased 1.06 percent and BMW advanced 1.09 percent. Daimler also finished higher by 0.65 percent.

In Paris, Peugeot climbed 1.19 percent and Renault added 1.17 percent.

In London, William Hill spurned yet another offer from 888 Holdings and Rank Group consortium. The stock dropped 4.11 percent.

G4S, which announced the appointment of Petrofac executive Tim Weller as its CFO, effective October 1st, rose 0.31 percent.

Bovis Homes reported higher first half profits and revenues and also said it sees strong trading through the rest of the year. The stock weakened by 2.75 percent.

Entertainment One rejected a takeover offer from ITV and KKR is reportedly considering to table a bid for Entertainment One. The stock finished higher by 6.78 percent.

Hennes & Mauritz reported a 10 percent year-over-year increase in its sales in July compared to a 8 percent increase in the previous month. The stock increased 2.14 percent in Stockholm.

The average asking price for a house in the United Kingdom slipped 1.2 percent on month in August, property tracking website Rightmove said on Monday - coming in at 304,222 pounds. That follows the 0.9 percent decline in July.

Manufacturing activity in the New York region unexpectedly contracted in the month of August, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index fell to a negative 4.21 in August from a positive 0.55 in July. A negative reading indicates a contraction in New York manufacturing activity.

The decline by the index came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to climb to a positive 2.50.

Homebuilder confidence improved in the month of August, the National Association of Home Builders revealed in a report on Monday. The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index climbed to 60 in August from a downwardly revised 58 in July.

Economists had expected the homebuilder confidence index to inch up to 60 from the 59 originally reported for the previous month.