Europe close: Shares end on a mixed note amid holiday-thinned trading volumes

European stocks ended on a mixed note on Monday, amid low volumes, with many traders in Europe away from their desks for the Assumption Day holiday.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was marginally lower, drifting 0.01% lower to 346.05, France’s CAC 40 was down 0.05% and Germany’s DAX was up 0.24%.

At the same time, oil prices were firmer. West Texas Intermediate jumped 2.584% to $45.67 a barrel after Russia reiterated it was open to agreeing on a production freeze with OPEC members so long as it was not a temporary measure, although some analysts voiced scepticism that any deal would truly have an impact on production levels.

"[...] With Iran at or near its short-term capacity [a deal to freeze output] is not out of the question," analysts at SocGen said in a research note sent to clients.

Nevertheless, an agreement would only serve to bolster sentiment, they added, because Russia, Iraq and Iran were "maxed out or close to it" and Saudi output would diminish anyhow following its seasonal peak in Summer.

"So a freeze would not have any impact on actual crude supply," SocGen said.

Investors were also digesting data released overnight showing that Japan’s economy hardly grew in the April to June quarter, weighed by exports and business investment.

The economy grew 0.2% on an annualised basis, down from 2% in the first three months of the year and missing expectations of 0.7% growth. Meanwhile, private consumption nudged up just 0.2%, down from 0.6% growth the quarter before.

Markus Huber, a trader at City of London Markets, said: “Whilst the latest Japanese economic growth data have failed to meet expectations not everybody is viewing this necessarily as massively negative instead it appears rather likely that the government will take additional steps to boost growth rather sooner than later.

“Fairly typical for a Monday there is only a very limited amount of economic data scheduled to be released.

"Overall sentiment remains positive with traders still seeing more room to the upside, although volume is likely to be below average partially due to some countries celebrating Assumption Day.”

In corporate news, Swedish retailer H&M rose after it said sales in July increased 10%.

Belgian pharmaceuticals company UCB surged after a US court confirmed the validity of a patent related to its Vimpat epilepsy drug.

William Hill was in retreat after rejecting an improved cash-and-shares offer from Rank Group and 888 Holdings received over the weekend.

Bovis Homes also moved lower despite posting growth in profit and revenue for the first half, as it said it was too early to gauge the impact of Brexit.

FTSE 250 security firm G4S rallied after saying that Tim Weller will succeed Himanshu Raja as chief financial officer after Raja retires from the board and steps down from the role on 1 October. Weller will join the company from oilfield services group Petrofac, where he held the same role.

Entertainment One surged amid reports that ITV was planning to raise its bid for the company as it emerged that private equity firm KKR is considering making an offer.

Software firm Sage managed to shake-off news that an internal login had been used to gain unauthorised access to some of its British customers’ data.