12:21 PM EST, 11/20/2023 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed relatively flat in Monday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.10%, the Swiss Market Index increased 0.03%, France's CAC rose 0.18 %, while the FTSE in London and Germany's DAX each closed 0.11% lower.

Seasonally adjusted production in the construction sector increased 0.4% in the euro area and 0.5% the EU in September compared with August, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office. Compared with September 2022, production in construction decreased 0.3% in the euro area and increased 0.1% in the EU.

The highest monthly increases in production in construction were in Slovenia, Poland and Slovakia, while the largest decreases were in Hungary, Romania, Portugal and Austria. The highest annual increases were in Slovenia, Poland and Romania, while the largest annual decreases were in Finland, Spain and Hungary.

In Germany, producer prices of commercial products fell 11% in October from a year earlier, according to the Federal Statistical Office. In September, prices fell 14.7% from a year earlier, which was the sharpest annual drop since the survey began in 1949.

In corporate news, Bayer said late Sunday it is stopping a phase 3 study of asundexian in patients with atrial fibrillation at risk for stroke based on the recommendation of the study's Independent Data Monitoring Committee.

Bayer said data showed asundexian's efficacy was inferior to that of apixaban, which is sold under the name Eliquis and has been developed and commercialized by Pfizer (PFE) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY). Bayer shares tumbled nearly 18% on the DAX.

Shares of UK-based industrial equipment rental company Ashtead Group closed down 10% on the FTSE after it said yearly profit would be lower than Street forecasts due to lower emergency response activity in the US following a quiet hurricane season, according to media reports. The company said it expects to take a depreciation charge of more than $2 billion for the year.

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