Days after reaching a truce in the U.S.-China trade war, the U.S. government on Monday ratcheted up pressure on Europe in a long-running dispute over aircraft subsidies.

Planemaker Airbus dropped 1% and pressured France's CAC 40 index, which underperformed the pan-European STOXX 600 index's 0.2% gain by 0715 GMT.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office released a list of additional products - including olives, Italian cheese and Scotch whiskey - that could be hit with tariffs, on top of products worth $21 billion that were announced in April.

Financials rose 0.4% and was the biggest boost to markets, as shares of HSBC Holdings rose 0.4% and Prudential Plc climbed 1%.