European Markets Mostly Lower, But German Utilities Soar

(RTTNews) - The European markets were lower on Monday, with the exception of the German market which advanced as electric utilities surged, after the government said they have enough nuclear-energy provisions to meet future obligations.

On the economic front, the French current account balance showed a surplus in August. The current account surplus totaled 0.2 billion euros in August, in contrast to a 0.4 billion euros deficit seen a month ago, the Bank of France said.

Implementing structural reforms as demanded by Greece's lenders would bring the country's economy back to growth path, European Central Bank Governor Mario Draghi said in an interview with Sunday's edition of Kathimerini newspaper.

"The Greek government will have to show that it has assumed ownership of the program and that it is determined to fulfill its requirements," he said. Greece faces a 447 million euros payment to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks slipped 0.31 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, fell 0.33 percent.

The German DAX added around 0.5 percent, while the French CAC 40, the FTSE 100 index of the U.K. and Switzerland's SMI were in negative territory.

In Frankfurt, utilities RWE and E.ON surged about 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

BMW and Daimler were notably higher, while Volkswagen was moderately lower.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom fell 1.5 percent. Bayer and Merck were moderately lower.

In Paris, Safran declined about 4 percent. Media reports suggest European watchdogs have begun a probe into whether airlines are being forced to enter anti-competitive aircraft maintenance contracts. Rolls Royce declined 4.4 percent in London.

On the CAC 40, oil-services provider Technip declined 3.6 percent. Airbus dropped 2.5 percent.

Cap Gemini retreated around 2 percent after Indian peer Infosys Technologies reported second-quarter results.

Bucking the trend, electric utility EDF climbed 2.7 percent. Renault added 2.1 percent while Peugeot gained moderately.

In London, Standard Chartered and Lloyds Banking were losing 2.4 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Smiths Group rose 2.5 percent and International Consolidated Airlines advanced 1.5 percent.

Credit Suisse added over 1 percent. The Schweiz am Sonntag reported, citing several managers of sub-units in the bank, that the lender plans to cut costs by 7 percent to 10 percent, which would translate into an annual reduction of 1.5 to 2 billion Swiss francs for the group.

The Asian stocks rose broadly, although gains remained muted outside China and Hong Kong. Trading activity remained somewhat subdued in the wake of a public holiday in Japan.

In the U.S., futures point to a cautious open on Wall Street. In the previous session, stocks posted modest gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average notching a six-session winning streak to close at its highest level in over a month, as investors bet on low rates.

Crude for November delivery rose $0.07 to $49.70 per barrel, while December gold rose $10.9 to $1166.8 a troy ounce.