Europe midday: Shares struggle for direction after China data

(Sharecast News) - European shares were lower on Monday as China fell further into deflationary territory and producer prices in the world's second-biggest economy recorded their deepest contraction in almost two years.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.15% at 552.82 with major bourses lower. Germany's DAX declined by 0.48% and Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.12%. Eyes were also on a meeting in London between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese officials aimed at resolving the trade war between the two nations.

China's CPI index fell by 0.1% in May on an annualised basis and has now been in negative territory since February, when it fell 0.7% year-on-year, follows by 0.1% declines in March and April.

Meanwhile, the country's producer price index fell 3.3% in May year on year and compared with a 2.7% decline in April, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

"An uncertain start to the week for European markets, as traders struggle to find the same optimism that dominated the Asian session," said Marketscope analyst Joshua Mahony.

"Looking at the source of this weakness, the one standout area of downward pressure has come from the defence sector, with the likes of Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, Rheinmetall, and Thales all losing ground as the recent run higher starts to lose momentum."

"Nonetheless, with Putin apparently approving a massive re-ramp of the Russian navy, the military spending boom only looks set to grow over the coming years."

In other equity news, Alphawave shares surged by more than 20% after US chipmaker Qualcomm agreed to buy the semiconductor company for about $2.4bn.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com