European shares little changed as investors weigh Ukraine, ECB stimulus

European shares were little changed on Monday midday trading as investors weight the simmering tensions and Ukraine and possible generous stimulus by the European Central Bank.

The European Union have given Russia a week to change its course in Ukraine otherwise it would face a fresh new round of sanctions.

Regarding economic data, China’s manufacturing eased expansion more than forecasts to record 51.1 in August from 51.7 a month earlier. By the same token, euro area PMI manufacturing dropped to 50.7 last month from 51.8 in July.

On the other hand, all eyes will focus on the ECB monetary decision on Thursday amid expectations of seeing a fresh round of QE measures.

As of 07:13 EST, STOXX EUROPE 600 soared 0.06% to record 342.22 points. Health Care led the advance with a rise of 0.54%, followed by Energy which recorded 0.47% rise. 

The highest shares were for Novartis AG-REG as it advanced 3.76% to 85.45 CHF, while the biggest drop was recorded by Afren PLC as its shares plummeted 5.85% to 91.80 GBP.

Regarding other major European indices, France’s CAC 40 index retreated 0.29% to 4368.38 points, and FTSE 100 decreased 0.07% to 6815.10 points. Germany`s DAX 30 plummeted 0.13% to 9457.81 points.