European stocks were narrowly mixed Monday, with strength in the banking sector after a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland rebid for ABN Amro balanced against weaker commodity company shares and declines at telecom giant Vodafone Group, according to AP. The German DAX 30 index closed up 0.2 percent at 8,105.69 and the French CAC-40 index inched 0.1 percent higher to 6,125.60, while the U.K. FTSE 100 index slipped 0.3 percent to 6,697.70. Banks were one of the strongest sectors after ABN Amro shares jumped 3.6 percent. That followed a ¤71.1 billion (US$97.8 billion) bid from a consortium led by the Royal Bank of Scotland, with more cash in the new offer. Shares of Barclays, the bank competing to acquire ABN, rose 0.6 percent as the fresh offer from the RBS group was seen as lessening the chance of Barclays successfully taking over the Dutch bank. HSBC issued a «short-term trading buy» recommendation on Barclays. It said the RBS offer would not only reduce the bank's chances of buying an «overpriced» ABN Amro «but many in the market would also then perceive Barclays itself as a consolidation target.» Royal Bank of Scotland shares shed 0.6 percent. In the commodity sector, oil producer Royal Dutch Shell slipped 1.6 percent after HSBC downgraded the company to underweight from neutral, citing valuation. BP fell 0.8 percent.
