07:40 AM EDT, 10/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European bourses tracked moderately lower midday Monday as traders tracked soft Asian markets, monitored geopolitical tensions, and awaited the latest round of earnings reports.

Oil stocks gained on higher crude prices, while property, tech and bank issues lagged.

Investors also eyed Wall Street futures signaling red, and uneven closes overnight on Asian exchanges. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index declined 1.6% after a Beijing central bank rate cut underwhelmed investors.

In economic news, European Central Bank Governing Council member Gediminas Simkus, from Lithuania, said the ECB will further cut interest rates should the downtrend in inflation persist, reported Bloomberg.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down 0.5% mid-session.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index was off 0.7%, and the Stoxx 600 Banks Index also lost 0.7%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index was up 1.2%, but the Stoxx 600 Europe Food and Beverage Index declined 0.4%.

The REITE, a European REIT index, fell 1%, and the Stoxx Europe 600 Retail Index declined 0.3%.

On the national market indexes, Germany's DAX was down 0.8%, and the FTSE 100 in London was down 0.3%. The CAC 40 in Paris was off 0.9%, and Spain's IBEX 35 lost 0.7%.

Yields on benchmark 10-year German bonds were higher, near 2.25%.

Front-month North Sea Brent crude-oil futures were up 1.8% to $74.36 per barrel.

The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index was up 8.1% to 18.64, still indicating below-average volatility for European stock markets in the next 30 days, a positive signal. A reading above 20 indicates choppier markets ahead, while below 20 suggests calmer exchanges.

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