European close: Shares finish session on mixed note amid weak investor sentiment

European stocks finished the Monday session on a mixed note, with Swiss investment bank Julius Baer under pressure after the release of its latest results, although there were some timid signs of improved investor sentiment.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was edging up by 0.06% to 359.92, Germany's DAX was 0.04% lower at 11,176.58 and France's CAC 40 was 0.38% weaker at 5,000.19.

Trade relations between the US and China remained in focus after US President Trump said in an interview with CBS that he sees a "good chance" of reaching a trade deal with China and making progress with North Korea on nuclear disarmament.

"It looks like we're doing very well with making a deal with China. I can tell you this, no two leaders of this country and China have ever been closer than I am with President Xi. We have a good chance to make a deal," he said.

"I don't know that we're going to make one, but we have a good chance. And if it is a deal it's going to be a real deal. It's not going to be a stopgap."

In corporate news, Julius Baer fell as the bank's adjusted net profit for the second half of came in around 6% below consensus expectations and it announced a new cost-cutting programme.

Ryanair flew lower as the budget airline said it swung to a €20m loss in the last three months of 2018 from a €105.6m profit in the same period a year ago due to weaker-than-expected fares and higher oil prices.

On the upside, however, shares in German internet technology and financial services provider Wirecard surged 15% after it said a law firm it appointed made no conclusive findings of criminal misconduct by any of its employees following allegations of irregularities.

On the data front, the headline Sentix investor sentiment index for the eurozone fell to -3.7 in February from -1.5 in January, missing the consensus expectation for a reading of -1.3.

Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "A poor headline, but the details were slightly better. The main hit came from a sharp fall in the current situation index, while the expectations index increased slightly, to -17.3 from -19.3 in January. This divergence usually is a bullish signal in this survey, and the rebound in expectations also is consistent with the recovery in equity markets at the start of the year.

"Overall, the level of sentiment remains depressed, consistent with severe headwinds for risk assets. That said, we are cautiously optimistic that it will rebound further in coming months."

Oxford Economics said the discouraging readings likely reflect the fact that the improved market sentiment, owing to the Fed's more dovish tone, was unable to offset the concerns over the recent weak hard data releases, ongoing Brexit uncertainty and concerns about the US-China trade dispute.

"On the upside, though, the drop was the result of a more negative judgement of the current situation, whereas expectations for the next six months improved slightly both in Germany and the eurozone. Since the Sentix index tends to set the tone of other surveys, today’s ‘half-full/half-empty’ makes an extended period of weak data releases likely, while at the same time it also supports our relative optimism about a recovery in economic activity in the coming quarters."