ROME: European stocks finished lower on Monday as the European Central Bank kicked off its bond-buying program and speculation continued that the better-than-expected U.S. jobs report would lead the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates soon.
The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 index closed around 0.3 percent lower, with most major bourses and sectors in negative territory at the start of the week.
London’s FTSE 100 ended around 0.5 percent lower, with the French CAC down around 0.6 percent lower. However, German stocks shrugged off concerns to end around 0.3 percent higher.