(RTTNews) - European stocks struggled for direction on Monday after posting strong gains last week on dovish Fed bets.
Growth worries resurfaced after official data showed the downturn in euro zone business activity accelerated last month.
HCOB's PMI, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 46.5 in October from September's 47.2, its lowest reading since November 2020.
Meanwhile, Germany's factory orders grew unexpectedly in September, separate data from Destatis showed.
New orders climbed 0.2 percent on a monthly basis in September, confounding expectations for a fall of 1.0 percent.
The pan European STOXX 600 was marginally lower at 444 after closing 0.2 percent higher on Friday to extend gains for the fifth consecutive session.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was little changed, while the German DAX slipped 0.1 percent and France's CAC 40 eased 0.2 percent.
Telecom Italia SpA tumbled more than 3 percent. The telecom major has agreed to sell its landline network to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.
Ryanair Holdings, Europe's largest airline, jumped 6 percent after forecasting a record annual profit and outlining plans to pay a regular dividend.
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust edged up slightly in London despite reporting a drop in net asset value in the first half of the year.
Insurance company Prudential fell about 1 percent after new business sales and profits slowed slightly in the third quarter from the half-year stage.
Melrose Industries, a pure-play aerospace company, rallied 3.7 percent. The company said its GKN Aerospace Engines business has signed a new agreement with aircraft engines maker GE Aerospace.
Germany's Evotec plunged 5.6 percent after RBC downgraded the biotech firm's stock to "Sector perform" from "Outperform".
