European Stocks Down In Negative Territory In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - European stocks are down in negative territory on Monday with investors largely staying cautious ahead of central bank meetings.

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement is due on Wednesday, while the Bank of England (BoE) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) are scheduled to announce their policy moves on Thursday.

The BoE is widely expected to hike interest rates by 25 basis points.

The pan European Stoxx 600 is down 0.71%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 is down 0.4%, Germany's DAX is declining 0.6% and France's CAC 40 is down by about 1.1%, while Switzerland's SMI is lower by 0.62%.

In the UK market, Persimmon, CRH, Prudential, British Land Company, Entain, Rightmove, Auto Trader Group and WPP are down 2 to 3%.

EasyJet, TUI, ITV, Carnival, Johnson Matthey, Segro, Rolls-Royce Holdings, IAG and Fresenillo are also notably lower.

Mondi is climbing 4.3% and Royal Mail is advancing 2.5%. Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Phoenix Holdings and Admiral Group are also up with strong gains.

In the German market, Infineon, MTU Aero Engines, HeidelbergCement, Volkswagen and Porsche are down 1.7 to 3%.

Munic RE, Puma, Fresenius, Daimler Truck Holding and Hannover Rueck are up with moderate gains.

In Paris, Societe Generale is plunging nearly 10% after its Chief Executive Slawomir Krupa cut profitability targets and forecast slower growth, unveiling what he called a "realistic" new plan. The bank said it would target a return on tangible equity of between 9 and 10% by 2026, as against a previous target of a 10% return by 2025.

Capgemini, WorldLine, LVMH, BNP Paribas, STMicroElectronics, Kering, Publicis Groupe, Edenred, ArcelorMittal, Credit Agricole, Hermes International and Renault are down 1 to 2.5%.