European Shares Struggle For Direction Ahead Of Holiday Break

(RTTNews) - European stocks were subdued on Monday in the run-up to Christmas.

The pan European STOXX 600 was little changed at 502.45 as investors avoided making big bets against the backdrop of political uncertainties in Germany and France, and lingering worries about Trump's tariff threats.

The German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were marginally lower while France's CAC 40 dipped 0.2 percent after France's new government announcement was postponed until Monday evening.

The U.S. dollar held steady after lower-than-expected U.S. core PCE inflation data for November suggested that the Federal Reserve may have gotten too negative on inflation.

The British pound fluctuated below 1.2600 as official data showed the U.K. economy failed to grow in the third quarter as a result of weaker demand for exports.

Real gross domestic product remained flat in the third quarter, revised down from the 0.1 percent rise estimated initially.

In corporate news, AstraZeneca rose about 1 percent after its lung cancer treatment Tagrisso gained EU approval on the back of "powerful results" from a phase III trial.

Aviva was marginally lower while Direct Line Insurance rallied nearly 3 percent. The latter's board has agreed to a £3.7bn takeover from Aviva, after previously rejecting bids from its insurance competitor.

Chesnara, a life and pensions consolidator, fell about 1 percent after announcing that it has reached a second portfolio acquisition deal with Canada Life Ltd., known as Canada Life UK, for a closed portfolio of unit-linked bonds and legacy pension business.

Swisscom rose half a percent after its planned acquisition of Vodafone Italia has been cleared by Italy's competition watchdog and its industry ministry.

Novo Nordisk jumped 9 percent after reporting disappointing trial results for its latest weight-loss drug CagriSema.

France's Renault was down 0.6 percent after Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda announced they had entered into official talks to merge and create the world's third-largest automaker by sales. Renault owns a minority stake in Nissan.

Knorr-Bremse AG shares fell more than 1 percent. The German brake systems manufacturer has officially sold its U.S. subsidiary Sheppard to Balmoral RHS Acquisition Corp., streamlining its focus on braking technologies and operational growth.