European markets were mixed on Monday as investors awaited key corporate earnings and monitored elevated Middle East tensions.

 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 traded flat at around 9:30 a.m. London time, with sectors and major bourses pointing in opposite directions. Oil and gas stocks led the gains, up 1.1%, while insurance stocks dipped 0.5%.

 

Regional markets had ended last week on a high note after the European Central Bank announced its third interest rate cut of the year. The ECB on Thursday lowered the deposit rate by another 25 basis points as inflation risks in the European Union are seen to be easing faster than anticipated.

 

German software company SAP will report its highly anticipated third-quarter earnings on Monday evening. The results come shortly after a report from the Dutch semiconductor firm ASML last week triggered a rout in tech market stocks.

 

Elsewhere, Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Monday as traders assessed China's loan prime rate announcement, with focus also on Japan's general election at the end of the week.

 

Stateside, stock futures ticked higher after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 notched their best weekly win streaks of 2024.

 

Shares of Danish shipping group Moller-Maersk rose 3% on Monday morning.

 

It comes shortly after the company said it had stopped all booking acceptance to and from crisis-stricken Haiti "effective immediately" in light of the ongoing political situation.

— Sam Meredith

 

Dutch coffee and tea group JDE Peet's rose to the top of the European benchmark on Monday morning.

 

Shares of JDE Peet's jumped 14% after the company announced the appointment of Rafael Oliveira as its chief executive officer and investment holding company JAB said it would acquire Mondelez's 86 million shares in the firm.

 

Meanwhile, Swiss inspection services firm SGS fell 2.6% after RBC cut its target price for the stock, Reuters reported.

— Sam Meredith

 

European markets opened slightly lower on Monday.

 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 traded down 0.1% shortly after the opening bell, with most sectors in negative territory.

— Sam Meredith

 

The fundamental backdrop is "quite good" for gold prices at the moment, according to one analyst, with the yellow metal thought to be on track to hit $3,000 per ounce over the coming months.

 

Spot gold prices traded 0.3% higher at $2,727.26 per ounce at around 7:50 a.m. London time, paring gains after hitting a fresh all-time high of $2,732.73 earlier in the session.

 

Asking prices for British homes rose only marginally in October as more properties came onto the market, according a survey on Monday that also suggested some buyers were waiting for clarity on tax changes in the new government's upcoming budget.

 

Asking prices rose by just 0.3% in October, well below their average for a 1.3% monthly increase for the month, property website Rightmove said.

 

The number of homes available for sale was 12% higher than the same time period last year, and was the highest per real estate agent since 2014.

 

Overall activity in the property market remained strong, with buyer demand rising.

 

Prices were 1.0% higher than a year earlier.

— Reuters

 

China's stimulus measures need to tackle structural problems in its crisis-hit property sector to restore confidence in the world's second-largest economy, according to one strategist.

 

It comes as optimism over a raft of economic measures implemented by Beijing since late September appears to have faded in recent days.

 

"I think the fundamental point is, for all of the measures that have been taken, I think where the disappointment at least for an observer comes in is measures for the property market," Daniel Morris, chief market strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Monday.

 

"The fundamental issue, or one of many fundamental issues, is that you can cut interest rates, but people aren't necessarily going to react if confidence isn't there [and] confidence isn't there because of weakness in the property market," Morris said.

 

"And so, you need to start with that fundamental issue before you get the chain effect that you want," he added.

— Sam Meredith

 

European markets are expected to open in mixed territory Monday.

 

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 17 points higher at 8,373, Germany's DAX down 12 points at 19,644, France's CAC up 1 point at 7,611 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 55 points at 35,087, according to data from IG.

 

Bitcoin surged to its highest level in three months after election polls showed higher odds of winning for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

 

The cryptocurrency surged to a high of $69,487 on Monday, its highest level since July.

 

Wall Street analysts have raised their bets on three stocks ahead of their quarterly earnings reports over the past week.

 

One of the stocks, a Big Tech AI firm, has rallied 64% this year, with analysts predicting more momentum ahead.

 

As investors attempt to navigate volatile global markets, Morgan Stanley is reiterating its recommendation to buy dividend stocks.