European stocks mixed

European stocks were mixed Monday afternoon as investors digested a fresh batch of corporate results, reports CNBC.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered about the flatline in trade, with sectors and bourses trading in opposite directions.

In corporate news, Dutch health technology company Philips surged toward the top of the index after a stronger-than-anticipated 6 per cent rise in comparable sales for the second quarter. The company cited robust demand for its hospital equipment in China and the U.S. during the three-month period. Shares jumped over 5.0 per cent on the news.

Meanwhile, Swiss private bank Julius Baer reported a 19 per cent decline in adjusted net profit in the first half of 2019. Outgoing CEO Bernhard Hodler nevertheless said that profitability at the firm had "markedly improved" compared to last year. Shares of the company rose 2 per cent.

Among the worst performing individual stocks however was British hotel and restaurant chain Whitbread, which slid 4.1 per cent after it returned £2.5 billion ($3.1 billion) of capital to shareholders, but said it was not planning any further return of capital.