European stock markets experienced a decline in trading on Monday, with The Stoxx Europe falling by 0.26%. The Swiss Market Index suffered a loss of 0.59%, France's CAC dropped 0.50%, and Germany's DAX was down by 0.47%. However, the FTSE in London saw a slight increase of 0.09%. The HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing PMI, a key indicator reflecting the health of eurozone factories as compiled by S&P Global, reported an increase to 46.0 in October, up from 45.0 in September.
Despite this rise, it remained below the demarcation threshold of 50.0, which separates growth from contraction. Importantly, the overall pace of decline noted the slowest rate since May. 'There is one bit of good news in these numbers: the recession in the manufacturing sector did not deepen further in October,' stated Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.
The highest PMI readings were recorded in Spain (54.5), Ireland (51.5), and Greece (51.2), while the lowest were seen in France (44.5), Germany (43.0), and Austria (42.0). In corporate news, Danish pharmaceutical leaders Ascendis Pharma and Novo Nordisk have initiated an exclusive global licensing agreement aimed at developing and commercializing products based on TransCon technology, particularly focused on metabolic diseases, along with a product-by-product exclusive license for cardiovascular diseases.
Verona Pharma announced a Q3 loss of $0.07 per diluted share on Monday, a worsening from a loss of $0.02 a year prior. Analysts surveyed by Capital IQ had anticipated a loss of $0.32 per share. The company's revenue for the quarter ending September 30 reached $5.6 million, a significant increase from no reported revenue a year earlier.
Additionally, Irish low-cost airline Ryanair reported a fiscal Q2 net profit of approximately 1.28 euros ($1.40) per diluted share, a slight dip from 1.32 euros the previous year. The airline has adjusted its traffic growth expectation for fiscal 2026 to approximately 210 million passengers, revised down from the earlier guidance of 215 million passengers, due to delays in the delivery of Boeing jets..