European stocks were little changed in quiet trade Monday, with markets in the U.K. and Ireland closed for a holiday.

The Stoxx Europe 600 inched down 0.2% early in the session, weighed by the financial sector. Italian banks led losses, with Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA down over 7%.

The moves followed a downbeat session in Asia. Chinese factory activity in China edged down in April, an official gauge showed, signaling a modest weakening of momentum for the world's second-largest economy.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 3.1% as the market reopened from a holiday, hit by a recent appreciation of the yen and continued disappointment over the Bank of Japan's decision to leave monetary policy unchanged Thursday. Australia's S&P ASX 200 edged down 0.2%, while markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore were closed.

Wall Street ended lower Friday as a selloff in tech shares deepened, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average still managed to post a third consecutive month of gains.

In commodities, Brent crude oil fell 1% to $46.89 a barrel, while gold prices were up 0.4% at $1295.70, close to a 15-month high.

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 02, 2016 04:15 ET (08:15 GMT)