Europe close: Stocks little changed as traders weigh Chinese data

European equities were little changed on Monday as traders weighed a batch of Chinese data.

At close, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.24%, France’s CAC 40 was 0.3% higher and Germany’s DAX was up 0.59% while Spain's IBEX dropped 0.24% and London's FTSE 100 edged down 0.41%.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics said gross domestic product rose 6.9% in the third quarter compared with 7% in the first two quarters. This was better than the 6.8% forecast by economists but still the worst rate of growth since the first quarter of 2009.

Meanwhile, Chinese industrial production rose 5.7% in September, missing economists’ expectations of a 6% gain, while retail sales were up 10.9%, a touch ahead of the 10.8% increase expected.

“Overall, we see some nascent signs of growth stabilisation in the non-financial sector driven by fiscal stimulus but no evidence of a durable rebound in the coming months,” said Nomura.

“We continue to expect moderate fiscal stimulus from the central government and continued monetary easing, with one more bank reserve requirement ratio cut in the fourth quarter and another four in 2016 (each by 50 basis points), together with two more benchmark interest rate cuts (each by 25bp) in 2016.”

Earlier, a report realised by Eurostat showed construction output suffered a sharp slowdown in August.

Seasonally-adjusted construction output in the euro bloc declined 0.2% month-on-month in August from an upwardly revised 0.4% gain in July.

On a year-on-year basis, construction output slumped 6% compared with an upwardly revised 0.3% decline in the previous month.

Across the Atlantic, house builder confidence rose to its highest level in a decade in October, according to National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo. The housing market index climbed three points to 64, its highest level since October 2005 and higher than analysts’ expectation for a 62 reading.

In company news, mining stocks were under the cosh after further evidence of a slowdown in China’s economic growth. Anglo American, Glencore, Fresnillo and Antofagasta were among the fallers.

Oil producers were also lower, including Royal Dutch Shell, Premier Oil and Tullow Oil, after Moody’s downgraded its 2016 price estimates for Brent and WTI. At 1637 BST Brent was down 3.1% to $48.93 per barrel and WTI fell 1.7% to $46.43 per barrel.

Deutsche Bank rallied after it announced a reshuffle of its senior management and the splitting of its investment bank into two separate units as part of a strategic overhaul.

Shares in German retailer Metro advanced after it expressed optimism over the Christmas trading period.

French dairy company Danone gained after its third-quarter sales beat expectations, with revenue up 4.6% on a like-for-like basis.

Pharmaceutical company Shire bounced back from earlier declines as it tried to reassure the market that its lifitegrast dry-eye treatment remains on track for planned launch next year, after revealing over the weekend that US regulators wanted to see more data.