By Sanchayaita Roy and Twesha Dikshit
(Reuters) -European shares were flat on Monday as investors assessed a mixed bag of corporate earnings while awaiting a potential trade deal between the United States and the European Union.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.03% at 547.15 points, as of 0831 GMT.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident that Washington can secure a trade deal with the EU, but August 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs to kick in.
Investors awaited
clarity on U.S.-EU trade talks, as the bloc readied retaliatory measures if negotiations with Washington failed.
"On the one hand, it's this complete uncertainty when it comes to the tariffs," said Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, adding that on the other side he remains hopeful the EU and U.S. will reach a better deal, and that the impact on corporate earnings will not be as severe as initially feared.
European basic resources gained 3.3%, the most among sectors, while travel and leisure rose 1.7%.
Banks slipped 0.7%.
Ryanair was one of the biggest percentage gainers in the STOXX 600, after Europe's largest low-cost carrier reported that its quarterly profit more than doubled. Its shares surged 6.2%, boosting other airline stocks.
Lufthansa rose 1.3% and EasyJet gained 1.1%.
Miners Glencore, Anglo American and Antofagasta rose between 3.3% and 4%, tracking stronger metals prices. [MET/L]
Boliden rose 5.9% after Berenberg upgraded the Swedish miner to "buy" from "hold".
Belimo advanced 5.5% after the Swiss heating and ventilation solution maker posted better-than-expected half-year profitability.
Conversely, Stellantis fell 1.2% after the automaker said it expects a net loss of 2.3 billion euros ($2.68 billion) for the first half of 2025.
Swedish defence material maker Saab fell 7.4% after rising 16.4% in the previous session.
On Monday, the Chinese foreign ministry said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a European Central Bank survey showed on Monday that the Euro zone firms remain optimistic about their growth prospects but are also experiencing pressure on their profits, in part due to trade tensions.
Investors will also take cues from the ECB's meet later this week, at which it is expected to keep rates steady at 2.0% following a series of cuts.
Focus will also be on big tech company results this week, including Alphabet and Tesla.
(Reporting by Sanchayaita Roy and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
