Market Update
European markets edging mostly higher Monday amid a batch of mostly downbeat manufacturing reports from the euro zone.
The FTSE was up 0.2%. The CAC 40 Paris slipped 0.2% while the German DAX was also off 0.2%.
The euro-zone's manufacturing PMI unexpectedly fell in May, slipping to 52.2 from 52.5 in April. Germany's manufacturing PMI also fell more-than-expected to a seasonally adjusted 52.3 from 52.9 in April.
France recorded the only improvement in factory activity with a reading of 49.6 on the index but still well below the 50-mark which separates expansion from contraction.
The U.K. maintained an unchanged reading of 57.0.
Consume inflation figures are due slightly later from Germany.
Stocks on the Move
AstraZeneca PLC was up 1.2% after a broker upgrade as the company reported progress in trials for drugs to treat certain cancers.
GlaxoSmithKline was down 0.4% even as the company entered into new agreements with Bayer to develop cancer drugs, according to a report in the Financial Times. Over in Frankfurt, Bayer edged up 0.1%.
A separate report in the same paper said GlaxoSmithKline had also agreed a deal worth more than $350 million with U.K. biotech company Adaptimmune to develop cancer drugs.
BNP Paribas extended Friday’s losses even as Reuters reported citing sources that the French lender may be asked to fire some senior executives as part of a settlement into an ongoing investigation relating to the evasion of sanctions.