European markets closed lower on Monday as data showing another decline in Chinese exports raised worries about global economic slowdown and forced investors to make cautious moves.
Also, with the additional 15% tariffs on $165 billion worth of Chinese imports set to take effect this coming Sunday, there is still an element of uncertainty about a U.S.-China trade deal happening anytime soon.
The new round of tariffs could throw a wrench in negotiations over a phase one trade deal, which is reportedly being held up in part by a dispute over how much to roll back existing tariffs.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.24%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.08%, Germany's DAX declined 0.46% and France's CAC 40 ended down 0.59%, while Switzerland's SMI shed 0.28%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain declined.
Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Russia closed modestly higher, while Sweden, Netherlands, Turkey and Ukraine ended flat.
Tullow Oil shares slumped as much as 60% after the company downgraded its production guidance for 2020, suspended its dividend and announced that chief executive Paul McDade and exploration director Angus McCoss had both stood down.
Phoenix declined 3.7%. Rentokil and TUI ended lower by about 2.4% and 2%, respectively.
Tesco shares jumped more than 4.5% on news the company is considering the sale of its stores in Thailand and Malaysia.
Marks & Spencer, Aviva, J Sainsbury, Severn Trent, Barclays, Lloyds Banking, Schroders and Hargreaves Lansdown were among the other notable gainers in the U.K. market.
In Germany, Adidas, Merck, E.ON. and Lufthansa declined 1 to 2%. BMW, Daimler, Wirecard and Infineon also ended weak.
Osram Licht soared 15% after AMS said that its takeover bid for the German lighting manufacturer had been successful. Shares of AMS declined 4.7% in the Swiss market.
In the French market, Sanofi, Peugeot, Airbus Group, Engie and Essilor ended lower by 1 to 2%.
In economic news from Europe, Switzerland's unemployment rate remained unchanged in November, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, reported Monday.
The jobless rate held steady at a seasonally adjusted 2.3% in November, in line with expectations. Meanwhile, on an unadjusted basis, the jobless rate rose to 2.3% from 2.2% in October.
Data from Destatis showed Germany's exports expanded unexpectedly by 1.2% in October. Exports wree expected to drop 0.3% in the month. However, the monthly growth eased from 1.5% in September.
At the same time, imports remained unchanged from September, when it advanced 1.2%. Economists had forecast a 0.1% drop. The trade surplus rose to a seasonally adjusted EUR 20.6 billion from EUR 19.2 billion in September.
France's economic growth is expected to slow slightly in the fourth quarter, the Bank of France reiterated Monday.
The bank retained its GDP growth estimate for the final three months of 2019 at 0.2%, which is slower than the 0.3% expansion in the third quarter.
Survey data from the bank showed that the business confidence index for the manufacturing sector eased slightly to 97 from 98 in October.
Eurozone's investor confidence improved for a second straight month to its highest level since May, and business expectations were the strongest in nearly two years, suggesting that recessions fears have receded, survey data from the behavioral research institute Sentix showed on Monday.
The Sentix indicator of business confidence rose by 5.2 points to 0.7 in December. Economists had expected the reading to worsen to -5.3 from -4.5. The latest reading was the highest since May 2019.
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