Major stock indices in Europe little changed

Market's attention this week is aimed at the European Central Bank meeting. Also, market participants expect British Prime Minister Theresa May's speech on Tuesday devoted to the position of London in the Brexit negotiations.

The surplus of the trade balance of the euro zone rose in November as export growth outpaced import growth showed Eurostat data. The surplus of the trade balance rose to a seasonally adjusted 22.7 billion euros in November, compared with 19.9 billion euros in October. Exports rose by 3.3 percent, while imports grew by 1.8 percent from October.

In unadjusted basis, the trade surplus amounted to 25.9 billion euros compared to 22.9 billion euros in the previous year. Exports showed an annual growth of 6 per cent, while imports posted a 5 percent increase. Exports to the 28 EU countries increased by 3.1 percent and imports by 3 per cent. As a result, the trade surplus increased to EUR 4.1 billion from EUR 3.9 billion in October.

The composite index of the largest companies in the region Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0,5%, to 364.01 points.

Some support for the UK market had a weakening of the pound sterling against the US dollar, down 1.6%.

The structure of the UK FTSE 100 index includes companies primarily focused on foreign markets, for which the weakening of the pound is a favorable factor.

Thus, the value of Unilever shares rose 0,4%, Reckitt Benckiser +0.8%.

Meanwhile, shares of British banks are getting cheaper: Barclays - 2%, HSBC Holdings - 0,1%, Royal Bank Of Scotland - 3%.

The value of shares of the French manufacturer of eyeglass lenses and optical equipment Essilor International jumped 12.4% on the information of the merger with the Italian company Luxottica Group SpA, which owns such well-known brands of glasses as Ray-Ban and Oakley. The amount of the transaction, which will be held in the form of an exchange of shares, will be about 22.8 billion euros. Luxottica Shares rose 8%.

At the moment:

FTSE 7340.82 3.01 0.04%

DAX 11559.43 -69.75 -0.60%

CAC 4897.66 -24.83 -0.50%