BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks struggled for direction on Monday after Fitch warned that France's debt outlook is worsening, expressing doubts about the country's ability to sustainably restore its public finances after the 2027 presidential election.
Investors were also reacting to data that showed Germany's retail sales declined unexpectedly in September.
Retail sales dropped 2.0 percent on a monthly basis in September, in contrast to the 1.2 percent increase seen in August, Destatis said.
Sales were forecast to grow 0.4 percent. On a yearly basis, the decline in retail sales deepened to 2.3 percent from 0.3 percent in the prior month.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was marginally lower at 646.35 after falling 0.4 percent on Friday.
The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both edged up marginally while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was little changed with a positive bias.
In corporate news, Alstom shares nosedived 31 percent. The French train maker cut its profit and cash flow forecasts for the second time since April and also revised down its sales forecast for the 12 months to March to between 2 percent and 4 percent, from about 5 percent previously.
German healthcare group Fresenius gained nearly 2 percent after signing an exclusive biosimilars development agreement with China's WuXi Biologics.
FirstGroup jumped 4 percent. The U.K. bus and rail operator has agreed to sell five West Yorkshire depots and 330 buses to the regional transport authority for £109m and won two bus franchise contracts that are expected to generate around £40m of annual revenue.
Chip stocks recovered from last week's sharp sell-off, with ST Microelectronics, Infineon and Aixtron rising between half a percent and 1.2 percent.
Energy stocks such as BP Plc, Shell and TotalEnergies were moving lower as oil prices fell more than 3 percent following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to give diplomacy with Iran more time before resuming strikes.
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