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European stocks struggled for direction on Monday after posting strong gains last week on dovish Fed bets. <\/p>\n
Growth worries resurfaced after official data showed the downturn in euro zone business<\/span> activity accelerated last month.<\/p>\n HCOB’s PMI, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 46.5 in October from September’s 47.2, its lowest reading since November 2020.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Germany’s factory orders grew unexpectedly in September, separate data from Destatis showed.<\/p>\n New orders climbed 0.2 percent on a monthly basis in September, confounding expectations for a fall of 1.0 percent.<\/p>\n The pan European STOXX 600 was marginally lower at 444 after closing 0.2 percent higher on Friday to extend gains for the fifth consecutive session. <\/p>\n The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was little changed, while the German DAX slipped 0.1 percent and France’s CAC 40 eased 0.2 percent. <\/p>\n Telecom Italia SpA tumbled more than 3 percent. The telecom major has agreed to sell its landline network to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. <\/p>\n Ryanair Holdings, Europe’s largest airline, jumped 6 percent after forecasting a record annual profit and outlining plans to pay a regular dividend. <\/p>\n Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust edged up slightly in London despite reporting a drop in net asset value in the first half of the year.<\/p>\n Insurance company Prudential fell about 1 percent after new business sales and profits slowed slightly in the third quarter from the half-year stage.<\/p>\n Melrose Industries, a pure-play aerospace company, rallied 3.7 percent. The company said its GKN Aerospace Engines business has signed a new agreement with aircraft engines maker GE Aerospace.<\/p>\n Germany’s Evotec plunged 5.6 percent after RBC downgraded the biotech firm’s stock to “Sector perform” from “Outperform”. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n