Europe: Stocks Extend Downturn.

European stocks closed firmly lower on Monday, extending the plunge this month as another session of higher energy prices worsened the inflation outlook in the continent. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 fell by 0.7% to 5,681 and the pan-European STOXX 600 dropped 0.7% to 595. Banks, industrial companies, and companies that produce discretionary goods continued to be the most impacted by the exchange of strikes in the Persian Gulf and the spike in oil and gas prices. UniCredit and Deutsche Bank lost 1.5% each as Eurozone yield extended their surge on worries that the ECB will deliver a rate hike this year, worsening the outlook on credit activity. Meanwhile, Siemens and Schneider Electric fell 1.7% each as the surge in power prices is set to hurt their margins. Outside the Eurozone, Roche fell 3% after the company’s breast cancer drug combination failed to meet its primary endpoint in a late-stage trial.