AMSTERDAM/LONDON: European stocks fell on Monday from all-time highs as investors booked profits ahead of the quarterly corporate earnings season, while two French utility companies surged on news of a merger deal after months of wrangling.

Shares of Veolia and Suez surged 9.7% and 7.7% after the waste and water management companies agreed on a merger deal worth nearly 13 billion euros ($15.4 billion).

The benchmark pan-European STOXX 600 index ended about 0.5% lower after closing at a record high on Friday, with technology, travel and leisure and commodity stocks leading declines.

European earnings will kick into higher gear later in April, with analysts expecting a 47.4% jump in first-quarter earnings for STOXX 600 companies, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Much of the support is likely to come from consumer cyclicals and industrial firms.

UK’s domestically focused FTSE mid 250 index dropped 0.4%, hovering just below a record high as shops, pubs, gyms and hairdressers reopened after three months of lockdown.

Low cost airlines easyJet and Ryanair dropped 3.9% and 3.6% after HSBC downgraded the stocks to “hold” on concerns over a return in demand as the economy reopens.

Italian diagnostics group DiaSorin SpA jumped 9.6% after it said it will acquire US based Luminex Corp for $1.8 billion.

Economically sensitive automakers were the top-performer among the European stock sectors.—Reuters