Europe close: Stoxx down as China data points to slowdown

(Sharecast News) - European shares closed lower on Monday as weak data out of China and Japan hit sentiment.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 closed 0.21% to 657 with all major bourses in the red. Germany's DAX fell 0.36%, Britain's FTSE 100 0.29%, France's CAC 40 0.4%, Spain's IBEX 0.91% and Italy's MIB 0.02%.

On the economics front, Japan's economy expanded by 1.1% in the second quarter on an annualised basis, missing expectations for 2% growth.

In China, a data dump revealed retail sales grew in July by a meagre 0.6% year on year, missing estimates of 1.5%.

Urban fixed-asset investment, including real estate and infrastructure, contracted by a worse-than-expected 6.7% while investment in real estate fell 19.2% in the first seven months of 2026.

Industrial output also missed estimates of 4.8% growth in July, coming in at 4.5%.

"China's latest retail sales figures are a clear warning that the consumer recovery remains fragile. July growth slowed to just 0.6%, well below expectations, with a 17% plunge in automobile sales highlighting the weakness in big-ticket spending," said IG chief technical analyst Axel Rudolph.

"While areas such as communication equipment and food remained resilient, the broader slowdown suggests Beijing still has significant work to do to revive domestic demand. Unless consumer confidence improves, China's growth outlook will remain under pressure."

In equity news, Accelleron Industries jumped on a 'buy' rating from Berenberg from a 'hold', while ArgenX also surged following positive late-stage trial results for its autoimmune myositis drug.

Miners were in favour as gold prices rose on the back of a weaker dollar with Antofagasta, Hochschild Mining and Fresnillo all higher.

SIG Group slumped after replacing its CEO.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com