Stocks in Europe slipped Monday, with losses among Italian banks putting the pan-European on track for its first loss in four sessions. Stoxx Europe 600 shed 0.1% to 331.88, with only the basic materials, utilities and health care sectors moving higher. Financials were in the red, with Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA dropping 8.5%. The move came after a report that the European Central Bank is pushing the lender to draft a new plan aimed at reducing non-performing loans. Other Italian bank shares were lower, with Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna down 3.7%, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA off 3.8% and Banca Popolare di Milano SpA lower by 1.6%. The Stoxx 600 on Friday ended 0.7% higher, and finished the week up 3.2% to break a four-week string of declines. Equities have been clawing back Brexit-fueled losses, as the U.K. government has yet to start formal talks about its terms in exiting the European Union after last month's referendum. Still, in the face of such Brexit-related uncertainty, shareholders in the London Stock Exchange Group PLC will vote Monday on the proposed merger with Deutsche Boerse AG. LSE shares were down 0.7%, and Deutsche Boerse shares were up 0.1%. Indexes: Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.4% to 9,739.93, and the U.K's FTSE 100 lower by 0.2% at 6,567.06. France's CAC 40 lost 0.5% at 4,252.60, while Italy's FTSE MIB fell 1.2% to 16,112.91. Spain's IBEX 35 picked up 0.1% at 8,276.50. Movers: Volkswagen AG was down 4% as the German automaker rejected demands that it pay compensation to European car owners who bought tainted diesel vehicles. Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC shares dropped as Barclays cut its rating on the price comparison website company to equalweight and cut its view on 2017 estimated per-share earnings by 8%. "We believe Moneysupermarket offers attractive structural growth in the medium term. But our economists now expect a U.K. recession in 2017, and there is some cyclical exposure, which makes us cautious," said Barclays. Marks & Spencer Group PLC fell 4.6% following a ratings downgrade on the retailer to hold from buy at Investec. Among the gainers, RWE AG shares rose 2.7% as the German utility signed a deal for Qatargas to deliver up to 1.1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas a year to RWE Supply & Trading in northwest Europe. Financial terms of the 7 1/2-year deal weren't disclosed. Shares in miner Fresnillo PLC rose 7.8%, tracking further gains in gold and silver prices Source: MarketWatch
