European stocks mixed on fears over Ukraine and China

Europe's main stock markets ended mixed on Monday, with worries about the possible economic impact of the escalating crisis in Ukraine and a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing dampening sentiment. The DAX 30 in Frankfurt shedding 0.28 percent to close at 9,529.50 points, while in Paris, the CAC 40 added 0.10 percent to 4,462.69 points. The London market was closed for a holiday. Madrid edged out a gain of 0.02 percent while Milan fell 0.65 percent. The CAC 40 and DAX 30 spent much of the day down more than one percent, as clashes in Ukraine intensified. At Barclays Bourse brokerage in Paris, portfolio manager Renaud Murail commented that "it was surprising the markets held up as they did at the opening, given that the situation in Ukraine worsened at the weekend and does not seem to be under control". Weak manufacturing output data for China also undermined sentiment, traders said. China's manufacturing sector contracted for a fourth consecutive month in April, HSBC said Monday, the latest sign that the world's second-largest economy is slowing. The British banking giant's purchasing managers index (PMI) came in at 48.1 for last month, a tad up from 48.0 in March but weaker than the 48.3 reported in its preliminary report on April 23. A figure below 50 indicates contraction while anything above points to growth. Both Paris and Frankfurt picked up however after a survey of the US services sector rose in April and came in higher than analysts had expected. "We rebounded thanks to the ISM this afternoon," said analyst Alexander Baradez at the IG brokerage. The ISM non-manufacturing index rose by 2.1 points over the month to 55.2 points in April, above the 50 point line which indicates expansion and higher than the 54 points expected by analysts. Shares in Credit Suisse tumbled 2.32 percent to 27.40 francs on Monday after US Attorney General Eric Holder warned that no financial institution should consider itself "above the law" amid investigations into alleged tax evasion and money laundering by European banks. Separately, a senior US official told AFP on condition of anonymity that probes of BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse are expected to lead to charges. Press reports have suggested that Credit Suisse, which is being probed over claims that it helped US citizens evade taxation by sheltering their funds abroad, could find itself facing a greater fine than the $780 million that its fellow Swiss rival UBS paid to US authorities in 2009. Shares in BNP Paribas, which is being probed over allegations of money-laundering and of breaching US financial sanctions against certain third parties and is according to the Wall Street Journal in talks with US authorities to reach an out of court settlement, dipped 0.04 percent to 52.46 euros. - Euro rises - US stocks fell in early trade Monday, dragged down by concerns over Ukraine and China, but the encouraging US services data also helped them recover. In midday trading the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.02 percent at 16,515.49 points, while the wider S&P 500 added 0.07 percent to 1,882.52 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.11 percent to 4,128.43. Earlier in Asia on Monday, stock markets had ended mixed, partly in response to the weak manufacturing data for China, but also because of the tensions in Ukraine. The Hong Kong market ended down 1.28 percent, the Sydney market was flat, in Shanghai the market edged up slightly. The markets in Tokyo, Seoul and Bangkok were also closed for public holidays. In foreign exchange trading, the euro drifted up against the dollar ahead of a policy meeting by the European Central Bank on Thursday when the bank is expected to hold its key interest rate at 0.25 percent. The euro was at $1.3884 from $1.3869 late on Friday, but slipped slightly to 141.71 yen from 141.78. The dollar fell against the yen to 102.07 yen from 102.19.