(fxcue news) - The major European stock markets finished on opposite sides of the unchanged line on Monday after showing strength in the previous session. The markets saw early strength, supported by optimism over the outlook for interest rates; the markets in France and the United Kingdom were able to hold on to those gains, while the German bourse slipped under water and finished in the red. For the day, London's FTSE picked up 39.78 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 8,327.78, while the Dax in Germany dipped 16.08 points or 0.09 percent to close at 18,617.02 and the CAC 40 in France added 13.33 points or 0.18 percent to end at 7,590.37. In London, Antofagasta surged 2.68 percent, while Airtel Africa soared 2.49 percent, Schroeders rallied 2.40 percent, Prudential jumped 1.62 percent, Rightmove climbed 1.08 percent, Tesco improves 0.72 percent, Vodafone added 0.57 percent, Rentokil sank 0.49 percent and Rolls-Royce and Scottish Mortgage both gained 0.26 percent. In Germany, Vonovia rallied 3.70 percent, while Bayer slumped 1.11 percent, Siemens Healthineers shed 0.51 percent, Covestro added 0.37 percent, Airbus rose 0.27 percent, Volkswagen fell 0.23 percent, Deutsche Post dipped 0.16 percent, Daimler Truck Holding eased 0.09 percent, Deutsche Borse perked 0.08 percent and Deutsche Telekom was down 0.04 percent. In France, Vivendi gained 0.71 percent, Danone improved 0.69 percent, Societe Generale shed 0.54 percent, Sanofi added 0.48 percent, Schneider Electric lost 0.40 percent, Credit Agricole slipped 0.15 percent and BNP Paribas eased 0.05 percent. In economic news, the confidence among companies in Germany showed a downward trend in August as their current and future situations were weakened, survey data from the ifo Institute showed on Monday. The ifo Business Climate Index fell to a six-month low of 86.6 in August from 87.0 in July. The expected reading was 86.0. Spain's producer prices continued their falling trend in July amid cheaper energy prices, though at the slowest pace in sixteen months, provisional data from the statistical office INE showed on Monday. The producer price index posted an annual decrease of 1.4 percent in July after a 3.2 percent decline in July. Finland's producer prices increased for the first time in fifteen months in July, though marginally, data from Statistics Finland showed on Monday. The producer price index rose 0.2 percent year-over-year in July, reversing a 0.3 percent decline in the previous month. An increase in the producer price index was last seen in March 2023.