Europe midday: Shares subdued as investors digest China slowdown

(Sharecast News) - European stocks remained subdued at midday on Monday as investors mulled the latest trade figures out of China and Germany.
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was flat, with France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX both lower.

Market participants were digesting the latest trade data out of China, which showed export and imports growth slowed in July.

Exports rose 19.3% from a year ago, down from a 32.2% increase in June and missing expectations of 20.8% growth. Imports were 28.1% higher than a year earlier, coming in below expectations for a 33% jump.

In Germany, meanwhile, exports increased by 1.3% month-on-month in June, up from 0.4% in April and making the fourteenth consecutive increase. However, imports fell 0.6% on the month, from 3.47% in May, widening the trade surplus to €22.5bn. On the year, exports were up by more than 23%.

Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and BP were both lower as crude prices fell more than 3% on fears that pandemic-led curbs in Asia, particularly China, would dent fuel demand.

The weaker export data from China also hit miners including Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Glencore also fell on weaker metal prices after data showed China's export growth unexpectedly slowed in July.

"Investors are focusing on China, where the weakness in the weekend trade data has seen commodity prices, notably iron ore, fall," Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note.

"With a thin calendar in Europe and the US, markets will likely spend the session chasing their tails on news headlines."

Elsewhere in equity markets, UK food delivery group Deliveroo surged after German rival Delivery Hero took a 5.09% stake in the company.

British drugmaker Vectura climbed 2.2% as U.S. tobacco company Philip Morris raised its bid for the company.

Shares in wealth manager Hargreaves Lansdown slumped to the bottom of the index after reporting a dip in full-year pre-tax profit.

Elsewhere, HeidelbergCement was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underweight' at Barclays.