Cyclical stocks knock Europe lower, focus on EU talks

European shares fell on Monday, dragged down by cyclical sectors amid a surge in coronavirus cases globally, while investors remained cautiously optimistic about the ongoing talks over an EU-wide recovery fund.

An index of eurozone shares were down 0.5%, with the euro jumping to a four-month high.

EU leaders were making progress after three days of haggling over a plan to revive economies throttled by the COVID-19 pandemic, but Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned the discussions could still fall apart.


The broader European equities index also fell 0.5%, while Asian markets remained subdued as coronavirus cases increased in many countries.

Travel & leisure fell 2.2%, the biggest sectoral decliner in Europe, while oil & gas companies, automakers and banks dropped more than 1% each.

Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Gruppe AG declined 5.5% as it reported a 6% drop in assets under management from end-2019 in the six months through June.