European Stocks Close Lower As Weak Chinese Data Raise Growth Worries

European stocks closed on a weak note on Monday after languishing in negative territory right through the day's session as data showed a marked slowdown in Chinese economic growth amid power shortages and supply chain bottlenecks.

Worries surrounding China's property market due to the debt woes of China Evergrande added to the woes.

Fears over inflation following oil's climb to multi-year peaks hurt as well.

China's gross domestic product expanded 4.9% on year in the third quarter of 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday - missing forecasts for 5.2% and down sharply from 7.9% in the three months prior.

On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP rose just 0.2% - again missing expectations for 0.5% and down from the downwardly revised 1.2% growth in the previous three months (originally 1.3%).

The bureau also said that China's industrial production gained 3.1% on year in September, missing forecasts for 4.5% and slowing from 5.1% in August.

The British pound sterling touched a 20-month high versus the euro after Bank of England Governor Andrew sent a fresh signal that the central bank is gearing up to raise interest rates for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus crisis.

The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 0.5%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.42% down, Germany's DAX shed 0.72% and France's CAC 40 slid 0.81%, while Switzerland's SMI edged up 0.06%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed weak.

Denmark, Norway, Poland and Turkey ended higher, while Austria closed flat.

IAG declined nearly 4%. Informa and Anglo American Plc both ended lower by almost 3%. Antofagasta, Whitbread, BT Group, Smurfit Kappa Group, Compass Group, Land Securities, Burberry Group, Barratt Developments, Melrose Industries, Coca-Cola HBC, Aviva and Prudential lost 1.4 to 2.5%.

Hargreaves Lansdown climbed 2.55%. Fresnillo, Evraz, Pershing Square Holdings, Entain, Polyemtal International and National Grid gained 1 to 2.05%,

British gaming company Playtech soared 55% after it agreed a 2.1-billion-pound takeover offer by Australia's Aristocrat Leisure.

Shares of online retailer The Hut Group zoomed more than 20% after the company confirmed plans to overhaul its corporate governance.

In the French market, Unibail Rodamco ended more than 4% down. Accor, Safran, Sodexo, Kering, Valeo and Air France-KLM lost 2 to 3%. Renault, Carrefour, Publicis Groupe and Michelin also closed notably lower.

China-exposed luxury stocks including LVMH and Kering shed more than 2% after Chinese President Xi Jinping's call to expand a consumption tax.LVMH ended lower by more than 2%.

Valneva shares jumped nearly 33% after the biotech company reported positive Phase 3 results for its inactivated, adjuvanted Covid-19 vaccine candidate.

In Germany, Porsche Automobil, Covestro, Volkswagen, Daimler, Bayer, Fresenius Medical Care, MTU Aero Engines, BASF, BMW and Puma shed 1 to 4%.

HelloFresh gained nearly 2%. Deutsche Bank, Infineon Technologies and Deutsche Post also closed on a firm note.

Shares of Dutch consumer electronics giant Philips Electronics NV drifted lower after the company trimmed its outlook for fiscal 2021 after reporting weak EBITA and sales in its third quarter.

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