UPDATE 2-European shares flat as financials, miners weigh; Flutter rises

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* STOXX trading just 2.6% below all-time high
* Danone eyes best day in more than 4 months
* Flutter lifts travel and leisure stocks

(Adds comments, updates prices throughout)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
March 15 (Reuters) - European stocks ended flat on Monday,
with declines led by financial and mining stocks, while gains in
betting firm Flutter Entertainment and optimism about a strong
economic rebound helped limit losses.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was flat, inching
closer to a record peak set last year, with travel and leisure
.SXTP , automakers .SXAP and food & beverage sectors .SX3P
among the top gainers.
Basic resources .SXPP and energy stocks .SXEP fell 1.5%
each, while financials .SX7P dropped 1%.
Flutter FLTRF.L jumped 6.8% to the top of UK's FTSE 100
index after the betting group said it was considering listing a
small shareholding of its U.S. FanDuel business. Danone DANO.PA gained 2.9% after the company's board
ousted Chairman and Chief Executive Emmanuel Faber due to
growing pressure from shareholders. Its stock was on course to
post its biggest percentage gain in more than four months.
The STOXX 600 index is 2.6% away from its all-time high, but
trading has been volatile on worries that a rise in inflation
could pressure central banks to put a lid on easy money, which
is vital for economic recovery.
Rising bond yields have weighed on highly valued growth
sectors such as technology, while driving gains in economically
sensitive pockets in the market like banks, energy and
automakers.
"It is like the markets have remembered to be happy about
economic recovery again," said Russ Mould, investment director
at AJ Bell.
"For a time the focus was so fixed on accompanying inflation
risks, the upside from a rebound in the economy as countries
reopen was lost ... and those concerns over rising prices
haven't disappeared entirely though."
Meanwhile, China's economy continued to recover as data
showed a surge in factory and retail sector activity in the
first two months of the year, beating expectations. Investors are now awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting
later this week for direction on monetary policy.
Among other stocks, Milan-listed shares of carmaker
Stellantis STLA.MI STLA.PA gained 2.1% after Deutsche Bank
started coverage with a "buy" rating.
German used-car retailer Auto1 AG1G.DE rose 0.8% after
brokerages boosted their ratings on the company a month after it
raised 1.83 billion euros in its initial public offering.
Swiss drugmaker Roche ROG.S gained 2.1% after it said it
would buy GenMark Diagnostics GNMK.O , a U.S.-based maker of
molecular diagnostic tests, in a $1.8 billion deal.