European shares opened flat on Monday, following their best weekly jump in three months, as investors prepared for another data-heavy week, with focus on US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole for interest rate cut clues.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat at 511.38 points, after logging its best week since May 6 on Friday.
Defense stocks led declines, with Rheinmetall G.DE>, BAE Systems, Saab Ab, Thales , Leonardo and Dassault Aviation falling between 1.4 percent and 4.3 percent.
Germany, Britain, and the Eurozone, as well as the US PMI numbers and initial jobless claims data due later this week.
However, the main focus this week is the global central bank gathering at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Powell is expected to speak on Friday and likely give some cues on the Fed’s monetary policy path.
Elsewhere, Nexans dropped 3.8 percent.
Source: Qatar News Agency