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European stocks in the red

London - European stock markets mostly fell on Monday as earnings from Dutch electronics group Philips disappointed traders, who also looked ahead to key economic data releases from both sides of the Atlantic.

London's FTSE 100 index edged up 0.10% to 5 902.11 points in late morning deals, led by defensive stocks.

"The traditionally more defensive stocks such as (drinks group) Diageo and British American Tobacco are leading gainers - reflecting a perhaps more cautious tone among investors ahead of a week that sees the latest GDP data from the UK and US," said Will Hedden, a trader at IG Index.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 slid 0.77% to 7 008.28 points, the Paris CAC 40 dropped 0.34% to 4 004.91 points and the Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone companies lost 0.55% to 2 954.15 nearing the half-way stage.

"Philips was a key drag after the electronics firm reported a lower than expected fourth quarter net profit and warned that consumer sentiment will continue to be subdued this year," said City Index analyst Joshua Raymond.

"The firm reported net profit of €465m, way short of market consensus with the majority of investors expecting a figure closer to €530m.

"Due to actual profit figures falling such a long distance away from market expectations, investors have moved quickly to sell their holdings in the electronics firm whose shares have subsequently fallen over 6% in early trading." Philips later stood at €23.1, down 5.98%.

In London meanwhile, International Airlines Group, which was formed via the merger of British Airways and Iberia of Spain, made its stock market debut at a valuation of £6.1bn.

IAG's shares traded at 284.9 pence approaching midday trade, up slightly compared with BA's final price of 282.5 pence.

Asian stocks closed mixed on Monday, with Japanese exporters helped by a weaker yen and pre-weekend gains in New York, but amid worries about China's inflation hurting Shanghai and Hong Kong, traders said.

Tokyo's Nikkei index rose 0.69% to 10.345.11 points, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.31%.

In Japan, Honda was among the exporters gaining strongly, as it raised its outlook for US sales this year to 13.1 million vehicles compared with an earlier projection of 12.8 million.

US stock markets had diverged on Friday despite positive fourth-quarter earnings reported by major companies like eBay, Google and General Electric.

The Dow Jones Industrial average closed up 0.41% at 11 871.84 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.55% to 2 689.54.

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