European markets close lower; oil and gas stocks trim gains following output cut

European stocks got off to a poor start to the week, closing 0.5% lower, with most sectors in the red.

France’s CAC 40 fell 0.96%, Germany’s DAX fell 0.54% and Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1%.

The Dow opened about 13 points lower, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged higher.

— Fred Imbert

Catherine Doyle, an investment specialist at Newton Investment Management, said: “We really like China very much in the short term and (are) being a little bit more cautious … in the long run.”

Euro zone business growth slowed in May, according to monthly purchasing managers’ index data. The index, seen as a good indicator of overall economic health, fell to 52.8 in May from 54.1 in April.

Any number above 50 is considered a sign of growth rather than contraction, but May’s figure was below the initial estimate of 53.3.

— Hannah Ward-Glendon

However, Boris Vujčić, a member of the ECB’s Governing Council and the head of the Croatian National Bank, said more data was needed to determine “how fast this process is going”.

Swiss bank expected to complete credit suisse “As early as June 12,” which would create a giant Swiss bank with a $1.6 trillion balance sheet, following a government-backed bailout earlier this year.

UBS said in a statement on Monday that the closing of the transaction is subject to a registration statement, which includes the shares to be delivered, being declared effective by the SEC, and other remaining closing conditions.

Read more here.

— Reuters

Indivior led the Stoxx 600 higher in early trade, with shares up 10%.

The London-listed U.S. addiction treatment company said on Friday it agreed to pay $102.5 million to settle a lawsuit from 41 U.S. states over its monopoly of its opioid addiction treatment drug Suboxone.

European markets opened subdued after closing at a high on Friday as traders digested a U.S. debt-ceiling deal and euro zone inflation data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index opened 0.1% higher, with sectors and major bourses mixed.

Frank Downing of Ark Ventures said two companies specializing in artificial intelligence were undervalued by the stock market.

Downing, Director of Research Ark Next Generation Internet ETFarguing that as the cost of artificial intelligence falls, investors should look for companies with niche use cases that can deliver higher returns.

Downing says his stock picks could be significantly improved by leveraging large language models, such as those made by OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

Oil prices rose after top OPEC member Saudi Arabia decided to cut output by another 1 million barrels per day.

In early Asian trade on Monday, global benchmark Brent crude futures rose 2.4% to $78 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 2.5% to $73.53 a barrel.

“The market is not widely expecting a unilateral cut of 1 million barrels per day from Saudi Arabia,” Rapidan Energy President Bob McNally told CNBC via email after the decision.

“This again shows that Saudi Arabia is willing to act unilaterally to stabilize oil prices,” McNally said.

——Li Yingshan

Wall Street analysts have been bullish on the metal lately, with Citigroup and Goldman Sachs predicting a price surge.

For those looking to buy into the sector, CNBC Pro screened the stocks in the Global X Copper Miners ETF, and the resulting stocks included one that rose nearly 100%.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Britain’s FTSE is set to open 11 points higher at 7,622, while Italy’s MIB is set to rise 61 points to 27,109, IG data showed. Major stock indexes in France and Germany looked set to open lower, with the DAX down 15 points to 16,048 and the CAC down 4 points.

— Hannah Ward-Glendon