Cyclical stocks knock Europe lower, focus on EU talks

(Reuters) – European shares fell on Monday, dragged down by cyclical sectors amid a surge in coronavirus cases globally, while investors remained cautiously optimistic about the ongoing talks over an EU-wide recovery fund.

An index of eurozone shares <.STOXXE> were down 0.5%, with the euro jumping to a four-month high. [FRX/]

EU leaders were making progress after three days of haggling over a plan to revive economies throttled by the COVID-19 pandemic, but Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned the discussions could still fall apart.

The broader European equities index <.STOXX> also fell 0.5%, while Asian markets remained subdued as coronavirus cases increased in many countries. [GLOB/MKTS]

Travel & leisure <.SXTP> fell 2.2%, the biggest sectoral decliner in Europe, while oil & gas companies <.SXEP>, automakers <.SXAP> and banks <.SX7P> dropped more than 1% each.

Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Gruppe AG declined 5.5% as it reported a 6% drop in assets under management from end-2019 in the six months through June.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)