Source: Sharecast
The Stoxx 600 was down 0.4% at 568.36, after having surged by nearly 4% over the past six trading sessions to settle at a record close of 567.60 on Friday.
Most major indices across the continent were registering mild declines, but stocks in Paris were down 1.7% early on after France's prime minister Sébastien Lecornu and his government reportedly resigned, under a month after his appointment.
The abrupt exit came just hours after president Emmanuel Macron's named a new Cabinet that left many of the same people in key posts. The resignation of Lecornu, Macron's seventh PM and the fifth since his re-election in 2022, could result in a fresh budget impasse and possibly new elections, according to speculation.
The news sent the euro to a two-week low of $1.167.
In economic data, the construction downturn across the eurozone deepened in September, as the HCOB purchasing managers' index weakened to 46.0 from 46.7 in August.
Meanwhile, the eurozone Sentix confidence survey for October and eurozone retail sales for August were still to be released on Monday morning.
In equity news, French industrial conglomerate Compagnie de Saint-Gobain was weaker after underwhelming with a set of medium-term financial targets, pushing for mid-single-digit growth in sales between 2026 and2 2030. The company also guided to an EBITDA margin of 15-18% during the period, ahead of previous expectations of 13-15%.
Germany reinsurer Hannover Re gained after raising its dividend payout policy to 55% of net profits, up from 46% last year.
In London, Aston Martin dropped as the luxury carmaker warned on profits and launched an immediate review of costs on Monday, after US tariffs crashed third-quarter demand.
