European shares flat as weakness in autos negate mining gains

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The pan-European STOXX 600 index inched up 0.02% in early trading after it recorded its first weekly loss in eight on Friday.

A 10-year high for Shanghai copper prices and a surge in other metals boosted shares of European miners, with the basic resources index climbing 0.5% to lead sectoral gains. [MET/L]

Auto stocks took a hit, with Volkswagen AG (OTC:VWAGY) slipping 1.1% after the Financial Times reported the company had warned managers to prepare for a bigger production hit in the second quarter due to a global chip shortage.

Austrian sensor maker AMS fell 4.3% after Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) double downgraded its stock to “underperform”, citing concerns around the company potentially losing product supply deals at Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).