European stocks trade mixed as holiday-break lull seeps-in

The European equity markets opened on a negative note, and now trades mixed as sentiment remains sour after Dow missed 20l marker by a whisker in the last US session.

Moreover, resurfacing worries over the Italian banking sector after Monte dei Paschi warned that it could run out of liquidity sooner than previously thought, also weighed heavily on the European markets. The shares of Monte dei Paschi slumped -17%, leading to a halt in trading for the third time today.

Furthermore, the holiday-season lull gradually sets into the markets, with most traders moving away for Christmas and New Year celebrations, resulting in limited trading activity and minimal volatility.

Meanwhile, Germany's DAX 30 index trades +0.08% higher at 11,473 levels, while the UK's FTSE 100 index trades muted around 7,040. Among the other indices, the French CAC 40 index declines -0.19% to 4,840, while the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 index loses -0.12% to 3,275 points.