Europe Stocks Off, Italy’s Political Woes In Focus

European stock markets opened lower on Monday, with Italian banks leading the drive south, after Mario Monti, Italy’s technocratic prime minister, over the weekend said he was prepared to resign. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.2% to 278.58.

Italy’s FTSE MIB index tumbled 2.4% to 15,327.18 with shares of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA dropping 6%, shares of Intesa Sanpaolo SpA off 5.5% and UniCredit SpA down 5.4%. Banks were also lower in France, where shares of BNP Paribas SA declined 2.7% and Credit Agricole SA gave up 2.6%.

The CAC 40 index traded 0.5% lower at 3,588.86. In the U.K., shares of oil group Royal Dutch Shell PLC gained 0.4%, tracking oil prices higher. The FTSE 100 index , however, shed 0.1% to 5,907.70. Germany’s DAX 30 index dropped 0.4% to 7,488.24.

Marketwatch