Europe midday: Shares in lacklustre mood ahead of Nvidia earnings

European shares were in lacklustre mood as investors mulled US President Joe Biden’s decision to lift a ban on Ukraine using American-made long-range missiles to strike Russia.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.27% at 501.78 in early deals, with most major regional bourses also in the red with the exception of Britain's FTSE 100. With no major economic releases expected, there was little to drive sentiment, although traders are eyeing results from chip giant Nvidia later in the week.

Biden reportedly allowed the use of Atacms rockets, which have a range of 300kms in response to the presence of North Korean troops fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, said: "The Trump trade faltered further at the end of last week, as investors switched attention to the economic implications of the new regime."

"The twin concerns of reigniting inflation and deepening the nation’s debt have quickly risen to the surface, while the likelihood of US 'exceptionalism' and any number of trade wars, most notably with China, have taken the steam out of the post-election rally. "

"The situation was muddied further by Federal Reserve comments last week suggesting that the central bank is in no rush to reduce interest rates at pace. Although the markets are still pricing in a cut for December, the rate of reductions for next year has now slowed significantly."

In equity news, shares in Melrose surged as the UK aerospace company reported a 7% rise in revenue in the four months for October 31 driven by a strong rise in aftermarket work, particularly in defence.

Shares in Grifols fell on a report by Spanish news website El Confidencial that Canadian fund Brookfield plans to offer about €7bn for the Spanish drugmaker.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com