By Caitlin Ostroff

Global stocks started the week with muted gains in the absence of any further developments on U.S.-China trade negotiations.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat after the gauge ended last week above the 28000 milestone.

China's state media Xinhua reported that senior officials from both nations had "constructive discussions" on Saturday morning regarding each other's concerns about a "phase one" deal. But investors remain skeptical, as talks between the world's two largest economies have hit snags in recent weeks over China's reluctance to commit to a specific targets for purchases of U.S. agricultural goods, as well as Beijing's concerns about President Donald Trump's willingness to lift existing tariffs.

"The key to everything we're seeing at the moment is the perception of uncertainty among investors," said Dan Kemp, chief investment officer for Morningstar Investment Management in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "At the moment, we are living through a period where that uncertainty is very visible."

Meanwhile, shares of Xerox HoldingsCorp. fell 2.3% after PC and printer maker HP Inc. rejected a $33 billion takeover offer. Shares of Estée Lauder edged down 1.6% after the beauty-products brand agreed to acquire Seoul-based Have & Be Co. to expand its reach in the Asia-Pacific region.

Over in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.4% while the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.6%. China's central bank on Monday lowered its regular reverse repurchase rate for the first time since October 2015 in an effort to boost market confidence and bolster economic growth.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index ticked down 0.2%, with the real estate and financial services sectors edging higher. Shares in Aviva fell 4.7% after the British insurer said it plans to retain its Singapore and China units, following a Bloomberg News report that a group of financial firms were trying to buy its assets in Singapore and Vietnam.

Spain's Bolsas y Mercados Espanoles rallied 37% after two rival exchange-operators said Monday they are interested in a potential acquisition of the Madrid-based company.

The pound gained 0.6% against the U.S. dollar as weekend opinion polls showed that U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's party has the highest level of support since 2017. Mr. Johnson also said that all the Conservative Party candidates have pledged to vote for his Brexit deal if he wins a majority in the Dec. 12 election. The yield on the 10-year U.K. gilt rose to 0.760%, from 0.730% Friday.

Later in the day, investors will be able to gauge U.S. home builders' sentiment when the National Association of Home Builders releases its survey. Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester is also scheduled to speak at the University of Maryland.

Write to Caitlin Ostroff at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 18, 2019 09:04 ET (14:04 GMT)

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