European shares inch lower with regional economic data in focus

Investing.com - European shares edged lower on Monday, as risk appetite showed signs of waning at the beginning of the final trading month of the year.

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By 04:17 ET (09:17 GMT), the pan-European Stoxx 600 had fallen by 0.1% to 575.62. The DAX in Germany slipped by 0.6%, the CAC 40 in France dropped by 0.2%, and the FTSE 100 in the United Kingdom fell by 0.1%.

A raft of economic data from the region will be in focus this week, with investors attempting to gain a sense of the trajectory of the European economy heading into 2026. A gauge of Eurozone manufacturing sector activity decreased into contraction territory in November, while similar metrics in major European economies Germany and France shrank as well.

The outlook for the artificial intelligence industry also remains front of mind, although some worries around a possible bubble forming in the sector eased as November came to a close.

Meanwhile, Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending online in the United States and elsewhere is swirling around sentiment.

In individual stocks, shares of Airbus declined after the European planemaking giant said it had recalled and ordered immediate repairs to 6,000 jets because of a software issue. This constitutes over half of its global fleet.

Defense stocks faced some pressure as well, following news over the weekend that U.S. and Ukrainian officials had held "productive" negotiations on a possible peace deal in the multi-year Ukraine-Russia conflict. The wider European defense industry index fell by more than 2%, dragged down by shares in firms such as Hensoldt, Rheinmetall and Leonardo.

Oil rises as OPEC+ holds output steady

Oil prices rose more than 1%, supported by OPEC+’s reaffirmation to hold output steady during the first quarter, and by renewed supply concerns stemming from geopolitical tensions.

As of 04:12 ET, Brent Oil Futures expiring in February rose 1.92% to $63.57 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also jumped 2.12% to $59.76 per barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Sunday reiterated its plan to pause production increases through the first quarter of next year, maintaining voluntary cuts of roughly 3.24 million barrels per day.

The group signaled a cautious approach as it confronts uneven demand trends and what it sees as potential oversupply in oil markets next year.

Additional support for crude came from a series of attacks over the weekend on Russian energy infrastructure, which disrupted export operations.

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a major conduit for Kazakh and Russian crude shipments through the Black Sea, said it had suspended loadings after a naval drone strike caused significant damage to a mooring point at its Novorossiysk terminal.