European stocks flat as China stimulus update underwhelms

By Paolo Laudani and Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) -European stocks were little changed on Monday after China's stimulus plans failed to inspire confidence among investors, who focussed on the earnings season and the European Central Bank's (ECB) policy meeting later this week.

The continent-wide STOXX 600 index was flat by 0833 GMT, with gains in tech and telecom sectors offsetting declines in travel and leisure stocks as well as luxury companies.

Asian stocks teetered between gains and losses after China pledged on Saturday to "significantly increase" debt to revive its sputtering economy, but left investors guessing on the overall size of the stimulus package.

"Chinese finance ministry's presentation over the weekend was a bit disappointing in the sense that you didn't get these big numbers that some investors were hoping for," Richard Flax, chief investment officer at Moneyfarm said.

LVMH, Hermes, Kering and other French luxury stocks exposed to China fell between 1.4% and 3.6%.

Meanwhile, the ECB looked set to deliver another interest rate cut on Thursday as data signals the euro zone economy was in worse shape than when policymakers last met.

Traders are pricing in a 99% chance of a 25 bps rate cut on Thursday, up from as low as 20% when the ECB met last month. Money markets have also almost fully priced in the odds of another such move in December.

Current indicators point to continued weakness in the German economy in the third quarter, the economy ministry said in its monthly report. The federal statistics office is scheduled to release preliminary data for Q3 GDP at the end of this month.

Some of the biggest European companies including LVMH and ASML are due to report results in the coming week, kicking off earnings season on the continent.

Analysts expect profit for STOXX 600 companies to grow 4.6% in the third-quarter, as per LSEG IBES data, although earnings estimates have been falling considerably since the start of September.

British betting companies Flutter, Entain and Evoke slid between 7.7% and 13.6% after a media report said the UK government is considering doubling taxes on online casinos and bookmakers.

Mulberry jumped 16% after the British luxury brand said it is working with advisers to evaluate Frasers' sweetened 111 million pound ($145.1 million) takeover proposal, after its top investor Challice declined to sell shares to the sportswear retailer.

(Reporting by Paolo Laudani in Gdansk and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Mrigank Dhaniwala)