London sentiment was knocked by news that British construction group Carillion has collapsed, which weighing in particular on share prices of its joint venture partner companies.
Wall Street is closed on Monday owing to a US public holiday.
The euro meanwhile soared to a three-year peak at $1.2269 as Germany's preliminary coalition deal calmed eurozone nerves.
"It has been an uninspiring start to the week, with market volumes and volatility expected to be muted given the absence of US activity as the nation respects Martin Luther King day," said analyst Joshua Mahony at trading firm IG.
"The incredible recent rise in US stocks has certainly laid the groundwork for significant upside across a number of indices of late, and the majority of Asian markets had a strong start to the week."