LONDON: Major equity markets were flat or down Monday as investors took stock of the situation, and their profits, after the recent fast-paced news flow.
"European equity markets are slightly in the red as traders lock in their profits from last week's broadly positive move," said CMC Markets UK analyst David Madden.
Given that Frankfurt's DAX 30 and the CAC 40 in Paris set fresh record highs last week, while the FTSE 100 hit a multi-month high, "a small pullback today is hardly surprising" Madden said.
The FTSE 100 climbed a few points into positive territory as Wall Street opened for trading.
Both the Dow and S&P 500 dipped at the open bell, coming off record high closing levels, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged just a point higher despite the announcement of possibly the biggest tech merger in history.
Broadcom launched a $130 billion unsolicited bid for rival chip manufacturer Qualcomm in a cash and stock offer that was 28 percent above Qualcomm's closing price on Friday.
Qualcomm's shares rose over five percent in early trading, while those in Broadcom gained nearly 2.5 percent.
"US stocks are little changed in early action, with the economic calendar quiet today, while a flood of data in Asia looms and the markets continue to grapple with global monetary and political uncertainties," said analysts at Charles Schwab brokerage.
Last week was full of news which had driven equities higher, including the Federal Reserve delivering a punchy assessment of "strong" US economic growth while keeping its key policy interest rate unchanged.
Also last week, the Bank of England (BoE) hiked its key interest rate for the first time in more than a decade to combat Brexit-fuelled high inflation.
IG analyst Joshua Mahony agreed that markets were pausing from a "busy" round of central bank and company announcements.
"Markets are on a comedown, following what as was incredibly busy week from a political, economic and corporate standpoint," he said.
Mahony added that the focus "will likely shift onto the US from here on in, with negotiations over a wide-reaching tax reform programme expected to grab the headlines".
US President Donald Trump has proposed slashing the country's corporate rates and maintaining the top tax bracket for millionaires.
- Trump lashes out -
Asian stocks were largely flat Monday, as Trump lashed out at "unfair" trade practices and China's central bank chief condemned excessive debt.
Investors shrugged off rebounding commodity prices and another record-breaking Wall Street session Friday on strong Apple earnings.
Trump began his marathon Asia tour in earnest Monday by criticising trade relationships with Tokyo and Beijing, saying that close ally Japan had been "winning" for decades at the expense of the United States, and calling commerce with China "very unfair".
In particular, Trump's criticism of a "massive trade deficit" that "has to come down" prompted concern among Asian exporters.
Markets were already nervous over the prospect of an escalation in rhetoric -- or even further missile and nuclear tests -- from North Korea during the US president's Asian tour.
Elsewhere oil futures continued to rally with Brent crude hitting $62.90 per barrel -- the highest level since July 2015 -- before slipping back to around $62.39.
Prices have risen sharply due to growing global demand and OPEC-led supply curbs, with traders now closely monitoring the impact of a sweeping crackdown in oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which included the arrest of billionaire investor Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.
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