European Markets Dipped On Disappointing Economic Data

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended the first session of the new trading week with a modest decrease, following three weeks of gains. Profit taking was partially responsible for the dip, but disappointing German factory orders data and weak Eurozone investor confidence also weighed on investor sentiment. Investors are also playing it cautious ahead of the European Central Bank announcement later this week. The ECB will conclude its policy meeting on Thursday.

China sets growth target for 2016 and loosened the fiscal stance to alleviate its deep-rooted domestic problems amid challenging global environment.

At the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, Premier Li Keqiang said the economy is forecast to grow 6.5 to 7 percent this year and an average growth of above 6.5 percent in the next five years.

The authorities have set a range for growth instead of a target figure for 2016.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 0.54 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.20 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped 0.46 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.32 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.27 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.46 percent.

In Frankfurt, BASF rose 0.32 percent on a Bloomberg report that it is working with banks to make a counter bid for rival DuPont.

Deutsche Boerse decreased 1.59 percent on speculation that American giant CME and ICE, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, may step in with unsolicited offers for LSE.

Volkswagen declined 3.18 percent and BMW lost 0.93 percent. Daimler also finished lower by 0.59 percent.

In Paris, EDF slumped 6.73 percent, after its Finance Director Thomas Piquemal resigned ahead of an expected final investment decision next month on the Hinkley Point nuclear reactor project in the U.K.

Accor weakened by 3.58 percent, after Citigroup downgraded its rating on the stock to "Neutral" from "Buy."

In London, Old Mutual jumped 6.90 percent. The insurance giant said it is considering all options for the strategic review but no decision has yet been made.

InterContinental Hotels Group surrendered 1.86 percent. Citigroup downgraded its rating on the stock to "Sell" from "Neutral."

Randgold Resources lost 3.02 percent, after Morgan Stanley downgraded it to "Equalweight" from "Overweight."

Clarkson fell 1.08 percent. The shipping services group reported higher profit and revenue in 2015, but warned it doesn't anticipate any changes across the global shipping markets in the near term.

Infrastructure and support services firm Stobart Group rose 3.23 percent after saying this year's results will be ahead of last year.

Oil refining company Hydrodec Group sank 13.89 percent after selling its U.K. operations.

Eurozone investor confidence dropped to the lowest since April 2015, survey results by Sentix showed Monday. The investor sentiment index fell to 5.5 in March from 6.0 in February. The index dropped for the third consecutive month in March and reached its lowest level since April 2015.

Germany's factory orders dropped for the second straight month in January, reflecting the weakness in domestic demand. Factory orders slid 0.1 percent month-on-month following a revised 0.2 percent drop in December, data from Destatis showed Monday. This was the second consecutive fall in orders.

Nonetheless, the pace of decline was slower than an expected 0.4 percent drop.

The U.K. manufacturing sector remained in negative territory at the turn of the year, but new orders and output have improved after sinking to a six-year low in late 2015, a quarterly EEF manufacturing outlook survey suggested.