European Markets Dropped On Trump Policy Concerns

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended the first session of the new trading week firmly in negative territory. Investors were concerned after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a travel ban on the entry of refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries over the weekend. The announcement rattled markets and stoked demand for safe-haven assets.

Banks and commodity-related stocks were among the weakest performers Monday amid uncertainty over U.S. policy on trade and the economy under Trump. Travel stocks were also under pressure due to the travel ban.

Investors are also in a cautious mood ahead of several central bank announcements this week. The Federal Reserve will conclude its 2-day policy meeting on Wednesday, while the Bank of Japan and Bank of England also have meetings scheduled for this week.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index weakened by 1.10 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 1.23 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.98 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped 1.12 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell 1.14 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.92 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.70 percent.

In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank decreased 2.95 percent and Commerzbank forfeited 1.83 percent.

Utility RWE dropped 3.30 percent and rival E.ON lost 2.51 percent.

In Paris, BNP declined 1.90 percent and Societe Generale weakened by 1.48 percent. Credit Agricole also finished lower by 1.52 percent.

In London, Randgold Resources rose 0.84 percent after saying it is in discussions to resolve an illegal sit-in which started at the company's Tongon mine in Côte d'Ivoire late on January 26 by some employees demanding annual ex gratia payments.

Vodafone Group climbed 1.34 percent. In a statement, the mobile telecoms giant said it is in discussions with the Aditya Birla Group about an all share merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.

Lloyds Banking Group weakened by 1.46 percent. The UK government announced that it has reduced its stake in the company to 4.998 percent.

Barclays forfeited 3.12 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland lost 2.72 percent.

UniCredit dropped 5.45 percent in Milan, after saying its end-2016 capital ratios will not meet requirements set by the European Central Bank.

Eurozone economic confidence strengthened for a fifth consecutive month in January to the highest level in nearly six years, signaling that the currency bloc entered the year 2017 on a strong footing, survey results from the European Commission showed Monday.

The economic confidence index rose to 108.2 in January, while it was expected to remain unchanged at 107.8. This was the highest since March 2011, when the reading was 108.3.

Germany's consumer price inflation accelerated for a second straight month in January to its highest level in four years, preliminary figures from Destatis showed Monday. The consumer price index rose 1.9 percent year-on-year after 1.7 percent increase in December. Economists had forecast an inflation rate of 2 percent.

Spain's economic growth stabilized in the fourth quarter, preliminary data from the statistical office INE showed Monday. Gross domestic product climbed 0.7 percent sequentially, the same pace of growth as seen in the third quarter and in line with expectations. GDP has been expanding for thirteen consecutive quarters.

Personal income in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of December, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Monday.

The report said personal income rose by 0.3 percent in December after inching up by 0.1 percent in November. Economists had expected income to rise by 0.4 percent.

The Labor Department also said personal spending climbed by 0.5 percent in December after rising by 0.2 percent in the previous month. The increase in spending matched economist estimates.

With increases in the South and West offset weakening activity in the Northeast and Midwest, the National Association of Realtors released a report on Monday showing that pending home sales increased by much more than expected in the month of December.

NAR said its pending home sales index jumped 1.6 percent to 109.0 in December after tumbling by 2.5 percent to 107.3 in November. Economists had expected pending home sales to increase by 0.6 percent.