European Stocks Start Week on Negative Note

European equity markets fell on Monday, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 halting a 6-week winning strake, dragged by a 1.5% loss in oil stocks.

Industrial goods and services companies also dropped more than 1% while mining shares went down more than 0.5%.

Automakers, highly exposed to China, retreated by over 0.5%.

Global sentiment took a hit following protests in major Chinese cities against the country's stringent zero-COVID curbs.

Goldman Sachs suggested that China may exit its zero-Covid policy earlier than anticipated due to growing anger against strict Covid measures, though fears of a government crackdown continued to roil markets.

On the monetary policy front, remarks from ECB President Christine Lagarde and Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot hinted more rate hikes ahead to bring down inflation.

Domestically, the German DAX lost almost 1%.