America News Agency

According to the analysts, the U.K.’s FTSE index is seen opening 16 points lower at 8,305, Germany’s DAX 43 points lower at 19,434, France’s CAC 40 down 7 points at 7,791 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 1 point lower at 34,626.

The start for European markets comes after the pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed at a fresh record high on Friday. Stocks got a boost from China’s announcement last week of a range of stimulus measures to boost the economy.

Overnight in the Asia-Pacific region, stocks in mainland China spiked over 6 percent while Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 4.64 percent, as investors assessed key economic data from the two countries.

China’s official purchasing managers’ index reading came in at 49.8 for September, better than the 49.5 expected by economists polled by Reuters. However, the print marked a fifth straight month of contraction for the manufacturing sector in China.

Separate data from Japan showed industrial production in the country dropped 4.9 percent year on year in August, exceeding the 0.4 percent fall of the previous month.

U.S. stock futures were flat on Sunday night after major U.S. averages logged their third consecutive week of gains.

German inflation and retail sales data, along with the latest Italian inflation rate and final U.K. GDP data, are due in Europe on Monday.