Europe close: Stocks slip with all eyes on central banks, crude oil

(Sharecast News) - European shares fell into the red on Monday as investors awaited key interest rate decisions this week and kept an eye on rising crude oil prices. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 1.13% to 456.72 with all major regional bourses lower. Investors will be focused on rate decisions from the US, on Wednesday, and in the UK on the following day.

In parallel, front dated Brent crude oil added 0.68% to $94.61 a barrel on the ICE.

"Everyone is worried about oil prices, and what they will mean for inflation figures heading into the end of the year," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"While the recent pickup in US price growth is unlikely to shift the Fed into hiking on Wednesday, another hike before year-end seems more plausible."

Investors were also keeping an eye on the latest developments in China's struggling property market.

"The detention of [Chinese real estate developer] Evergrande employees, working in wealth management, has prompted a big slide in the real estate giant's share price amid nervousness that fresh fragilities will be uncovered," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter.

"Authorities are swooping deeper into the internal workings of the company, as worries swirl about the sector's woes potentially causing pools of financial instability elsewhere requiring fresh patch-ups, which could further drag down economic growth."

In other equity news, shares in Martin Sorrell's digital advertising agency S4 Capital slumped by almost a quarter as the company warned on earnings for the second time in just over a month.

Shares in Nordic Semiconductor fell 10% after a report that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world's largest contract chipmaker, had asked suppliers to delay deliveries amid concerns over slowing demand.

Mondi shares were up 3% as the paper and packaging firm agreed a €775m deal to finalise its exit from Russia.