A profit warning from Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler dampened European stock markets early on Monday, as investors looked for direction to a keenly awaited G20 summit this week that brings U.S. and Chinese leaders together after a long lull in talks.

Daimler AG's shares dropped 3% after it cut its 2019 earnings outlook on Sunday and lifted provisions for issues related to its diesel vehicles by hundreds of millions of euros.

That dragged shares in several of its peers lower and Germany's auto heavy DAX index dipped 0.1%. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down around 0.2% by 0706 GMT.

A rise in oil prices helped the energy sector outperform the main index with a 0.5% rise after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that "significant" sanctions on Iran would be announced on Monday.

President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was not seeking war after a senior Iranian military commander warned any conflict in the Gulf region could spread uncontrollably and threaten the lives of U.S. troops.

Copyright Reuters, 2019

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