LONDON -- European stocks have started the week in a mixed but somewhat negative tone Monday, with last week's central bank interest rate cuts offering little help. The situation in the eurozone is looking slightly more upbeat after JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the region is moving toward solving its financial crisis. However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that she hasn't softened her stance on the need for an oversight body if there is to be a new EU banking union. Early premarket trade has U.S. markets taking on a more negative tone, with the S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC ) set to open 0.3% lower.
Even with these losses, there are still a number of stocks on a steeper slide. Here are three American depositary receipts the S&P should beat today.
Nokia (NYSE: NOK )
The Finnish phone maker is in trouble again today, shares trading 2.5% lower after AT&T cut the sale price of Nokia's Lumia 900 smartphone in half. Nokia is counting on this new handset to help revive its flagging smartphone business, where it is struggling to compete with iPhone and Android models, and this move by AT&T comes as a severe blow amid signs that demand for the new Lumia is weak.
Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU )
The technology major is under pressure today, down 3.3% after France Telecom (NYSE: FTE ) said last week that the origin of the nationwide network outage was due to failures in Alcatel equipment. A spokesman for the company said the problem occurred after an overload following a software update on the equipment, but he was quick to deny that Alcatel's equipment had anything to do with the similar outage suffered by O2 customers in the U.K.
Barclays (NYSE: BCS )
The U.K. bank has slid around 3.2% lower today as investigations in both the U.S. and the U.K. into the LIBOR-fixing scandal look set to expand. Barclays' traders could face criminal charges in the U.S., while expectations are that this week's hearing in the U.K. will be an opportunity to open up new avenues of investigation.
Suggestions are that banks other than Barclays may now come under fire, with an internal email in Barclays last week suggesting that rival firms may be fined in excess of the 290 million pounds levied on the company.
As usual, this morning's European trading saw some stocks lose ground -- and perhaps provide some European buying opportunities. Indeed, legendary investor Warren Buffett has recently spent more than $1 billion buying a European large-cap stock that's currently trading well below its 2012 high. If you want to know what Mr. Buffett has bought within Europe, this special Motley Fool report -- "The One European Share Warren Buffett Loves" -- reveals everything, including the price he paid. You can download the report today for free. But hurry -- the report is available for a limited time only.
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