Source: Sharecast
The benchmark Stoxx 600 index closed down 0.1% at 546.76, Germany’s Dax fell 0.3% to 24,081.34 and France’s CAC 40 ended 0.6% lower at 7,698.52.
Donald Trump is due to meet Russian president Putin in Alaska on Friday 15 August to negotiate an end to the war.
Commenting on the upcoming meeting, Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Rostro, said: "There will always remain a degree of hesitation given the low likelihood of a peace agreement that is satisfactory for both Ukrainian and Russian sides."
On the macro front, investors were looking ahead to US consumer price inflation data for July, due on Tuesday.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "The CPI report for July is one of the data highlights this week. The market is expecting a moderate rate of price growth in July, with the headline month-on-month rate is expected to expand by 0.2%, the core rate is expected to rise by 0.3%. The annual rate for headline CPI is expected to inch up to 2.8% from 2.7% in June, while the core rate is expected to rise to 3% from 2.9%.
"The July and August inflation prints will be important ahead of the September Federal Reserve meeting. Currently there is an 88% chance of a rate cut at this meeting, after the weak payrolls report for last month. A higher-than-expected inflation print could temper some of these expectations, as only two members voted for a rate cut at the July meeting, with the bulk of members voting to hold rates steady."
In corporate news, Swiss pharmaceuticals firm Novartis gained after it said that its ianalumab drug candidate met the primary goal in two late-stage trials for the treatment of autoimmune disorder Sjoegren’s disease.
Denmark’s Oersted tumbled 25% after announcing plans to raise $9.4bn in a rights issue.
Salzgitter fell sharply as the German steel producer reported a widening of its first-half losses and downgraded its full-year outlook.
