Shares wary on U.S. inflation, battered bitcoin charts recovery – Reuters

Shares wary on U.S. inflation, battered bitcoin charts recovery – Reuters

Stocks struggled for momentum on Monday as investors awaited key U.S. inflation readings for guidance on monetary policy, while bitcoin rebounded from its hammering on news of China's clampdown on mining and trading of cryptocurrencies.

European stocks (.STOXX) were 0.1% firmer, after gaining support from Friday's data showing accelerating business growth in Britain and the euro zone for April. ECB President Christine Lagarde's assertion the same day that it was still too early for the bank to discuss winding down its 1.85 trillion euro stimulus scheme had also lent support. read more

Markets in Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Switzerland and Germany were closed for a holiday.