Europe's STOXX 600 falls ahead of data-intensive week
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STOXX 600 down 0.4%
UK's Rightmove jumps on potential takeover bid from Australia's REA Group
Updated at 0813 GMT
By Shubham Batra
Sept 2 (Reuters) -European shares started the week on a tepid note, led by weakness in miners amid a data-heavy week, while investors awaited speeches from European Central Bank (ECB) officials for clues on the central bank's policy trajectory this week.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was down 0.4%, off its record highs last week, after inflation in the euro zone fell to 2.2% in August, its slowest pace since July 2021.
All major European markets, including those in Germany, Spain and Italy, were also down around 0.4%.
"Everyone is taking a breather after a pretty hectic August in terms of market price action at least and really looking for signals on the macro side that the soft landing scenarios are in place and that central banks can begin to lower rates," said Richard Flax, chief investment officer ofMoneyfarm.
ECB policymakers are increasingly at odds on the outlook for growth, a rift that could shape the rate cut debate for months, with some fearing a recession and others focusing on lingering inflation pressures, sources close to the debate said.
Money markets have almost fully priced in a 25 basis-point rate cut by the ECB on Sept. 12, with total easing of around 60 bps by the end of 2024, according to LSEG's interest rate probabilities.
Consumer discretionary sectors, including automobiles .SXAP and retail .SXRP, weighed on the markets with a nearly 1% decline.
Miners .SXPP were down 0.8% after most base metals beganSeptember on a weaker note as the market trimmed bets foraggressive policy easing in the U.S. and China's manufacturing data heighteneddemand concerns.
Among individual movers, Rightmove RMV.L jumped 21% after REA Group REA.AX, the property listings company majority-owned by News Corp NWSA.O, said it was considering buying the British firm.
German peer Scout24 G24n.DE also advanced 3.3%.
Sanofi's SASY.PA shares rose 2.8% in spite of the company missing the main goal of two late-stage trials to treat relapsing forms of multiplesclerosis (MS).
A survey showed that the downturn in Germany's manufacturing sector continued to gather pace in August, with the HCOB final Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for German manufacturing falling to 42.4 in August from 43.2 in July.
For the region, manufacturing activity remained mired in contraction in August, with the data suggesting a recovery could be some way off as demand fell at its sharpest pace this year.
As markets closely eye more economicdata from the region and a slew of speeches from ECB officials, the week will culminate in the U.S. payrolls data on Friday, which could recaliberate investors' interest rate expectations.
Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Sonia Cheema
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