FX.co ★ European Shares Mixed Ahead Of Key Events

European stocks displayed a mixed performance on Monday, with investors closely monitoring the U.K. Spring Budget, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony, and the European Central Bank's decision on interest rates.

Economically, the Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence Index exhibited an improvement, rising from -12.9 in February to -10.5 in March, according to a recent survey.

The pan-European STOXX 600 Index saw a slight increase of 0.1 percent, standing at 498.08 after experiencing a 0.6 percent rise on Friday. While Germany's DAX traded marginally higher, France's CAC 40 fell by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 saw a 0.2 percent decline.

ING, the Dutch banking major, saw a 1.4 percent increase on the announcement of its plans to repurchase around 50 million euros of common shares. However, Spain's Banco Santander experienced a slight dip following a Bloomberg report suggesting the bank was cutting around 320 jobs in the U.S. as part of a shift toward digital operations.

Stocks for British healthcare software company Craneware climbed 2 percent on the back of an 8 percent revenue increase for the second half of the previous year. However, health tech company Halma reported minor losses, despite acquiring Rovers Medical Devices BV.

Low-cost airline Wizz Air Holdings saw its stocks decline by 1 percent after revealing a 3.3 percent drop in load factor for the previous month. Despite revealing strong financial results for 2023, Boeing supplier Senior experienced a 1.1 percent decline.

Insurance company Aviva's stocks remained relatively stable after purchasing underwriting syndicate Probitas for 242 million pounds ($306.2 million). Meanwhile, French banking giant BNP Paribas' stocks rose 1.5 percent following the announcement of a share repurchase programme worth 1.055 billion euros.

Shares in German chemicals firm Evonik rose 1.5 percent after it announced plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs worldwide by 2026 to reduce costs. Meanwhile, chemical and consumer goods manufacturer Henkel's stocks fell by more than 2 percent after it warned of slower sales growth in the coming year.

Delivery Hero's shares surged by 4.5 percent. The online food ordering and delivery company announced a finance transaction to amend and extend its 1.1 billion euro equivalent term facilities, while raising around 500 million euro equivalent in term facilities.

Rheinmetall shares rose 1.2 percent after the company announced it had secured a contract to supply a European NATO member with multiple rocket launcher ammunition.