UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

France's Fillon to hold press conference; UniCredit shares fall during rights issue

European stocks weaved between small gains and losses Monday, with Volkswagen AG shares under pressure in Frankfurt while miner Randgold Resources Ltd. popped higher after a financial update.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.1% at 364.53 after dipping in the red during the session. Consumer services and goods and tech shares were lower, but the utility and basic materials sectors were leading others higher. The pan-European index on Friday rose 0.6% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-shares-charge-higher-lifting-european-markets-2017-02-03), a move that trimmed its weekly loss to 0.6%.

Movers: In Frankfurt, Volkswagen (VOW.XE) (VOW.XE) shares were pulled down 1.3% following news that the auto maker is facing its first lawsuit from a large German customer stemming from Volkswagen's emissions-rigging scandal. German newspaper Bild am Sonntag (http://www.bild.de/geld/aktuelles/wirtschaft/roundup-erster-deutscher-grosskunde-verklagt-50122926.bild.html) said fish distributor Deutsche See is seeking EUR11.9 million in damages. The company leases 500 vehicles from Volkswagen, according to the report.

Meanwhile, investors pushed shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY) down 1.7%. The airline said third-quarter net profit fell nearly 8% to EUR94.7 million (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ryanair-profit-drops-due-to-overcapacity-2017-02-06-1485236)as a glut of seats for sale in the European airline industry continued to hurt ticket prices.

In Milan, UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI) shares fell 2.4% to EUR12.80 as the Italian lender's EUR13 billion share sale got underway. Shares in the rights issue were priced at a 38% discount on a theoretical ex-rights price. The move is aimed at bolstering capital at UniCredit, which has had to write down bad loans.

But advancers included Randgold Resources (RRS.LN) (RRS.LN) . Its shares jumped 3.6% as the gold producer posted a 76% leap in fourth-quarter net profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/randgold-quarterly-profit-jumps-76-ups-dividend-2017-02-06) to $78.5 million, and raised its final dividend by 52% to $1.

France watch: François Fillon, the conservative candidate in the country's presidential election, is slated to hold a press conference at 3 p.m. London time, or 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Fillon's campaign has been plunged into crisis stemming from a criminal investigation (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/french-presidential-candidate-francois-fillon-fights-against-growing-pay-scandal-2017-02-02) into whether his wife has received a state salary without performing any work. Various news reports indicate he may launch a counter-attack against the allegations.

But Fillon may also withdraw from the race, and that would strengthen the position of French far-right leader Marie Le Pen in the race, said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK, in a note.

"Frexit is a major threat for the eurozone and Le Pen's anti-globalization rhetoric has gained a lot momentum in France and this can shake the core of the eurosystem," he said.

Indexes: France's CAC 40 was up 0.2% at 4,836.35. Germany's DAX 30 index clung to a thin gain of 2 points at 11,653.

Italy's FTSE MIB was down 0.3% at 19,060.61 and the U.K's FTSE 100 picked up 0.2% at 7,199.14.

The euro was buying $1.0745, versus $1.0779 late Friday.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 06, 2017 05:19 ET (10:19 GMT)

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