Europe Markets: European stocks down in thin trading

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European stocks fell Monday morning, taking a respite from their jump last week on hopes that the U.S.- China trade dispute might soon end un in some form of armistice.

The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.67%  was down 0.5% amid thin trading characteristic of the days between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The UK FTSE 100 index UKX, -0.56% was down 0.3% in early trading, pulled down by retailers. Next PLC NXT, -1.43%, the British high-street fashion retailer, was among the top decliners, with a fall of 2%.

Germany’s Dax index, DAX, -0.34% was down 0.4%, with Siemens AG SIE, -1.08%  the biggest decliner, down 1.4%.

France’s CAC40 PX1, -0.73%  was down 0.6%, led by lenses manufacturer EssilorLuxottica EL, -2.87%, whose share tanked 3.6% after the group indicated it had uncovered a fraud in a Thai factory that could hit its profit by up to €190 million.

Both the pound sterling GBPUSD, +0.3287%  and the euro EURUSD, +0.2863%  rose against the dollar, up 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.