Europe open: Stocks mixed as tech jitters persist, central‑bank decisions loom

(Sharecast News) - European equities opened mixed on Monday as investors stayed cautious ahead of a heavy week for megacap tech earnings and key centralbank decisions.

As of 0840 GMT, the pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.04% at 636.01, while the DAX shed 0.75% to 25,181.65, the CAC traded 0.43% higher at 7,816.36 and the IBEX 35 was 0.73% weaker at 18,851.50.

Oil prices eased early on Monday, with Brent crude futures down 1.55% at $114.91 a barrel, offering some relief to energyimporting markets after the internation benchmark surged to its highest close since mid2022 last week on the back of Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure. Reports of Qatariled diplomatic efforts in Tehran helped temper crude.

However, even with Monday's pullback, elevated energy benchmarks kept traders on edge ahead of policy calls from the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan. The Fed was expected to hold rates, though markets now price an 80% chance of a December hike, while Frankfurt and Tokyo were seen following similar paths, with both central banks likely to stay put this week before tightening again later in the year.

European tech shares were steady after last week's sharp declines, with attention fixed on US earnings from Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon. Investors will now keep a keen eye on hyperscaler capex guidance amid concerns that aggressive AIinfrastructure spending may not deliver nearterm returns - a key pressure point for European chipequipment suppliers such as ASML and ASM International.

French assets found some respite after Moody's opted not to downgrade the country's sovereign rating on Friday, easing pressure on 10year yields, which had briefly topped 5% - their highest level since 2002.

On the macro front, Spanish industrial prices rose 18.3% in the year ended 30 September, according to the country's National Statistics Institute, while industrial prices rose 4% in September `alone.

Still to come, Germany's Ifo business climate index will be published 0900 GMT.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com