European Markets Climb Ahead of Services PMI Data

European markets opened higher ahead of the release of services data in the UK and other eurozone economies.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index opened 0.3% lower to 296.31

Britain's FTSE 100 and Spain's IBEX rose 0.2% in early deals

Germany's DAX, France's CAC 40 and Italy's FTSE MIB gained 0.1% in opening trade.

Market participants will be tracking services purchasing managers index (PMI) data coming in from the UK and elsewhere in the eurozone. Economists expect the releases to remain largely unchanged from last month.

France is due to auction weekly bills worth up to €7.5bn (£6.5bn) during the day.

In company news, Vodafone's Italian subsidiary is suing Telecom Italia for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the country. Elsewhere, Vodafone could be forced to sell its stake in India's leading mobile carrier Bharti Airtel after India revised telecom licensing rules, prohibiting cross-holdings in rival telecoms companies.

The British firm has a 4.4% stake in Bharti, worth about $1bn.

UK-listed bank HSBC, French water company Veolia and Italian tyre maker Pirelli will all report earnings during the day.

In Asia and the US

In Asia, market participants will be tracking Australia's interest rate decision due on Tuesday. Economists predict that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will lower its official interest rate to 2.50% from the current historic low of 2.75%.

In company news, Samsung Electronics lost over $1bn in market value on Monday after its stock price ended the day 0.93% lower, following a US government decision to veto an import ban on some Apple devices in the US.

The Japanese Nikkei finished 1.44% lower. South Korea's Kospi closed 0.37% lower while Australia's S&P/ASX index closed 0.11% lower. Earlier, markets outside China retreated on Monday, pulled down by a weak US monthly jobs report. However, upbeat economic data from China stemmed losses.

The US economy created fewer jobs in July, compared to June, just as the jobless rate fell to its lowest in over four years that month. The economy added 162,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in July while the unemployment rate fell to 7.4%.

In China, an HSBC survey pegged China's Services Business Activity Index for July at 51.3, indicating an improvement in activity, and unchanged from the level seen in the June survey.

The figure followed results from a government survey that showed that the services sector picked up in July despite weakness in the manufacturing sector, a sign that the country's recently introduced stimulus measures for small firms seem to be working.

In Japan, a Nikkei newspaper report showed that the consolidatedpre-tax profits for the 668 listed companies that have announced earnings so far rose an average 42% in the April-to-June first quarter compared to a year ago.

Last week, stock markets across Asia ended on a higher note. The Japanese Nikkei led the pack, while South Korea's Kospi trailed.

On Wall Street, indices logged modest gains on 1 August despite a weak monthly jobs report.

Both the Dow and the S&P 500 logged fresh closing highs. The Dow finished 0.19% higher at 15,658.36. The S&P 500 ended 0.16% higher at 1,709.67 while the Nasdaq closed 0.38% higher at 3,689.59.