The European stock markets closed mostly lower in Monday trading as the Stoxx Europe declined 0.23%, Germany's DAX fell 1%, the FTSE 100 lost 0.18%, France's CAC dropped 0.32%, and the Swiss Market Index was up 0.13%.
The eurozone's manufacturing sector weakened in November while factory job losses rose and a decline in inventory levels accelerated, according to the HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing PMI, which fell to 49.6 from 50.0 in October.
"In terms of the number of countries in which industry is growing again, the outlook for the eurozone looks quite reasonable," Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, said in a statement. "Of the eight countries in which Manufacturing PMIs are recorded, a clear majority of six countries are showing a positive economic picture."
In the UK, the manufacturing sector showed signs of recovery in November, as the seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index crossed into expansion territory in November and rose to a 14-month high of 50.2 points from 49.7 in October. It was the first time the index was above 50 since September 2024.
And in corporate news, UBS faces claims that it and its Credit Suisse unit failed to stop suspected money laundering tied to loans to Mozambican state-owned companies, Switzerland's federal prosecutor said Monday.
The Swiss Office of the Attorney General has indicted a former Credit Suisse employee for money laundering and alleges that Credit Suisse, its parent and successor groups, UBS SA and UBS Group AG, had organizational gaps that allowed the offense, the prosecutor said. Criminal proceedings against a second former Credit Suisse employee were dropped, the office added.
"We firmly reject the Office of the Attorney General's conclusions and will vigorously defend our position," a UBS spokesperson said in a statement to MT Newswires.
Credit Suisse did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.
Shares of UBS were down 0.1% in Zurich.
HSBC and Mistral AI said Monday they have entered a multiyear partnership to expand the bank's use of generative artificial intelligence to streamline operations. Under the agreement, HSBC will gain access to Mistral's commercial AI models and future developments, while both companies' engineering and applied AI teams will jointly build new AI-driven offerings across the organization.
Shares of the British lender increased 0.9% in London.
Unilever said Monday that it has reached an agreement to sell its Graze snacks business to Katjes International for an undisclosed sum. Graze will fall under Katjes' Candy Kittens Group in the United Kingdom, Unilever said. Completion of the deal is subject to standard conditions and is expected to close in the first half of 2026, Unilever said.
Shares of the consumer goods giant increased 0.3% on the FTSE 100 in London.
Shell and Equinor said Monday they closed a deal to combine their UK offshore oil and gas operations to establish a new company. The newly formed Adura, which will be equally owned by Shell and Equinor, assumes the companies' interests in 12 producing oil and gas assets and projects in execution.
Shares of the British petroleum company were up 0.6% in London, while shares of Equinor were off 0.2% in Oslo.
Stellantis' auto production in France is set to drop 11% by 2028, The Financial Times reported Monday, citing trade union estimates based on company presentations last week. Production totaled 661,000 vehicles in 2025 but is expected to fall to less than 590,000 in 2028, according to figures cited by the FT. The projected slowdown is more pronounced than Stellantis' competitors in Europe, the report said.
Stellantis did not reply to MT Newswires' request for comment.
Shares of the automaker gained 0.3% in Paris.
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