LONDON: Eurozone stock prices were on hold at the close Monday with all eyes on this week's policy meeting of the European Central Bank, set to offer further stimulus to boost the single currency bloc.
Following Thursday's ECB gathering, attention will turn to Friday's US jobs data and the outcome of OPEC's meeting on oil output levels.
Markets will be keeping a watch also over the two week-long Paris climate summit -- a springboard for billion-dollar initiatives designed to leverage the huge investments for encouraging clean technology and helping poor countries go green.
"The COP21 climate change conference in Paris is occupying the attention of traders in a quiet session for economic data leading into the big events at the end of the week," said Jasper Lawler, market analyst at traders CMC Markets.
"It seems likely a market-friendly... deal will get signed where it's agreed to tackle climate issues without any specifics on financing and a specific target for emissions."
As leaders huddled at the COP21 gathering Europe's main indices crept up mid-afternoon before slipping back.
Frankfurt's main DAX index added 0.8 percent and Paris 0.6 percent across the session, albeit just day highs -- but London's benchmark FTSE 100 index slid into the red, losing 0.3 percent.
Helping to take the London index into negative territory was mining giant BHP Billiton, struggling to limit the damage after the deadly collapse of a waste water dam in Brazil.
Shares in the miner slipped 3 percent -- but recovered for a day loss of 1.3 percent -- after the Brazilian government announced on Friday plans to sue the firm and partner Vale for $5.2 billion in clean-up costs and damages after the November 5 collapse of the dam at the Samarco iron ore mine.
Over the past four sessions, the stock is down some 9 percent.
"Markets are looking for indications -- nothing stood out this session," indicated Alexandre Baradez, analyst with IG France.
Wall Street stocks opened marginally higher but then fell back, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broad-based S&P 500 and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index all losing around 0.3 percent two hours in to trading.
"Arguably the US is going to dictate the overall direction of trading this week, especially with an incredibly important non-farm (jobs reading) Friday on the cards," said Connor Campbell, analyst at Spreadex trading group.
Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen is meanwhile due to appear before Congress, with markets hoping for more guidance ahead of the central bank's expected interest rate hike next month.
In foreign exchange Monday, the euro hit a fresh seven-month low point at $1.0563 before barely lifting itself from there to 1.0568.
Talk of further ECB stimulus and a US rate hike have combined to put fresh pressure on the euro, which is sitting at lows not seen since April.
"After last week's (market) doldrums, this week's agenda will come as a shock to the system," Bank of New Zealand strategist Raiko Shareef said in a note to clients.
"Front of mind will be the ECB's policy decision. The US employment reports will garner interest, but only a disastrous result would likely derail the (Fed policy board) from raising rates next month."
- Key figures at 1645 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,356.1Reuters
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.8 percent at 11,382.2
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 4,958
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6 percent at 3,505.5
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 19,747 (close)
New York - Dow Jones: DOWN 0.1 percent at 17,798 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN to $1.0568 from $1.0595 in late US trade on Friday
Dollar/yen: UP to 123.08 yen from 122.84 yen Friday
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