European stocks fell for a sixth day running on Monday as investors fretted about higher interest rates and coalition negotiations between German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party and the Social Democrats broke down over the weekend.
French President Emmanuel Macron's party lost two by-elections for parliamentary seats on Sunday and the dollar paused after recovering somewhat on Friday on the back of robust U.S. employment data, further weighing on markets.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down nearly 1 percent at 384.14 in late opening deals after falling 1.4 percent on Friday amid across the board selling.
The German DAX was declining half a percent and France's CAC 40 index was losing 0.9 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down more than 1 percent ahead of a crucial week for negotiations between Britain and the European Union on their future relationship.
Ryanair tumbled 3.5 percent as the budget carrier warned of some localized disruptions and adverse PR in the months ahead.
Oil & gas exploration company Tullow Oil lost 1 percent and Total SA shed half a percent amid an extended decline in oil prices.
Global consulting and IT service firm Capgemini lost 1.6 percent in Paris after announcing the acquisition of LiquidHub.
German airline Lufthansa fell about 1 percent after it unveiled plans to replace top management at Brussels Airlines.
Swedish engineering group Sandvik was little changed after its fourth-quarter core profit topped forecasts.
Deutsche Bank recovered from an early loss to trade about 0.4 percent higher.
In economic releases, the euro area economy expanded at the fastest pace since mid-2006 in January, final data from IHS Markit showed.
The final composite output index rose more than initially estimated to 58.8 in January from 58.1 in December. The flash score was 58.6.
A gauge of Eurozone investor confidence weakened in February, while the region's retail sales declined in December after recovering a month ago, separate reports showed.
Elsewhere, British service sector activity expanded at the slowest pace in nearly one-and-a-half years in January, survey data from IHS Markit showed.
by RTT Staff Writer
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