European Markets Slipped Ahead Of Central Bank Announcements

(RTTNews) - The European markets were stuck in a sideways pattern throughout Monday's session. The majority of the markets ended the session with small losses. Traders are in a cautious mood ahead of several central bank announcements later this week.

The Bank of Japan has begun its two-day policy meeting, but is expected to hold rates steady. The Federal Reserve will kick off its two-day policy meeting Tuesday, but is also expected to keeps rates unchanged.

The Bank of England is widely expected to increase rates by a quarter point when it concludes its policy meeting on Thursday.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index weakened by 0.29 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 0.42 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.35 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped 0.48 percent and the CAC of France fell 0.37 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined percent, but the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.11 percent.

In Frankfurt, industrial machinery group GEA surged 4.22 percent after its Q2 earnings topped forecasts.

Deutsche Bank gained 2.90 percent on news it is moving a large part of its euro clearing facility from London to Frankfurt.

In Paris, Air Liquide dropped 2.51 percent after its first-half operating income disappointed investors.

In London, Indivior fell 1.59 percent after a U.S. Court expedited a generic rival's appeal against a preliminary injunction blocking the sale of a copycat version of the drug-maker's blockbuster opioid addiction treatment.

Betting group GVC Holdings jumped 5.48 percent after it entered into a joint venture with U.S. hotel and casino operator MGM Resorts to set up a sports and online gaming platform in the U.S.

Heineken NV shares tumbled 5.26 percent in Amsterdam. The brewer cuts its full-year margin guidance amid an expansion into Brazil.

Eurozone economic confidence continued its downward trend hitting the lowest level in almost a year in July on weaker sentiment among retailers and firms, survey data from the European Commission showed Monday.

The economic sentiment index dropped slightly to 112.1 in July from 112.3 in the previous month. The score matched economists' expectations. The reading was the lowest since August 2017.

Germany's consumer price inflation slowed to a 3-month low in July, flash estimate from Destatis showed Monday. The consumer price index advanced 2 percent year-on-year in July, slightly slower than the 2.1 percent rise in June and 2.2 percent increase in May.

Inflation was expected to remain unchanged at 2.1 percent. This was the lowest rate since April, when prices rose 1.6 percent.

UK mortgage approvals increased to a five-month high in June, figures from Bank of England showed Monday. The number of mortgage approvals rose to 65,619 in June from 64,684 in May. This was the highest level since January, when approvals totaled 67,156.

Pending home sales in the U.S. rebounded by much more than anticipated in the month of June, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Monday.

NAR said its pending home sales index climbed by 0.9 percent to 106.9 in June after falling by 0.5 percent to 105.9 in May. Economists had expected pending home sales to inch up by 0.1 percent.