Europe midday: Rally halts as eurozone PMI hits sentiment

(Sharecast News) - The rally in European shares sputtered to a halt on Monday after the Stoxx 600 hit a fresh intra-day high. The benchmark index was down 0.3% to 650.8 at 1150 BST having hit 654.44. Sentiment was hit by a survey that showed the downturn in the eurozone construction sector deepened in June.

The S&P Global eurozone construction PMI total activity index fell to 42.8 from 43.7 in May. The decline in output was sharper than the post-pandemic average.

Meanwhile, the Sentix index which measures investor morale in the eurozone improved more than expected in July, registering its third increase. The index surged to -3.1 points in July from -13.4 the month before, beating a forecast -10.

In Germany, industrial orders rose more than expected in May, posting a considerable increase even when large-scale orders of aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles are excluded.

Industrial orders rose by 1.9% on the previous month on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, the federal statistics office said on Monday.

In equity news, shares in budget carrier easyJet surged after it accepted a sweetened £5.5bn offer from US firm Castlelake to take it private.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com