UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

Ryanair warns on fares; German auto makers also whacked

European stocks closed lower Monday, with shares of German auto makers and Dutch firm Gemalto NV among those pushing the market to its weakest finish in two weeks.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was off 0.2% to end at 379.23, adding to its recent retreat and notching its lowest close since July 11. The index on Friday slid 1%, contributing to last week's loss of 1.9%.

Early Monday, data showed the eurozone economy slowed in July (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eurozone-economy-slows-in-july-survey-shows-2017-07-24-44855249), with Markit saying its composite Purchasing Managers Index fell to 55.8 in July from 56.3 in June. That was below the 56.2 reading expected by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

Auto makers: Vehicle makers in Germany were under pressure following a report that Volkswagen AG had asked Europe's antitrust watchdog to investigate decades of coordination efforts by the country's main auto manufacturers amid growing concern they might have breached antitrust regulations. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/vw-asks-eu-to-scrutinize-german-car-makers-2017-07-24)

Volkswagen shares (VOW.XE) fell 1.4%, Daimler AG (DAI.XE) lost 2.7%, and BMW AG (BMW.XE) slumped 2.8%.

Other notable decliners: Gemalto NV (GTO.AE) dived 20% for the Stoxx 600's biggest loss after the provider of SIM cards and other digital security products issued a profit warning and announced a goodwill impairment charge (http://www.gemalto.com/press/Pages/Gemalto-preliminary-first-semester-results-and-2017-outlook-revision.aspx) of approximately EUR420 million, or $489 million.

Elsewhere on the Stoxx 600, budget carrier Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY) fell 1.1% after the company warned about pressure on fares because of overcapacity. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ryanair-profit-soars-55-warns-on-overcapacity-2017-07-24)

Ryanair stuck to its outlook that ticket prices in the first half, including the key July-September travel period, could fall on average 5%, and decline by 8% in the October-March period. Off the FTSE 100, shares of Ryanair stumbled 3.8%.

Oil and OPEC: Meanwhile, the Stoxx Europe 600 Oil & Gas index lost 0.2%, erasing a steeper decline after oil turned positive for the day (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-steady-with-all-eyes-on-opec-meeting-2017-07-24). The rally for crude prices followed news that Saudi Arabia--at a key meeting of oil producers--pledged to lower exports and Nigeria plans to limit its production.

Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) still gave up 1.7%, and Total SA (TOT) inched down 0.1%.

Read:How OPEC committee's meeting could make or break oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-opec-committees-coming-meeting-could-make-or-break-oil-prices-2017-07-20)

National indexes: In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 index , which is heavily weighted toward exporters such as car makers, fell 0.3% to end at 12,208.95, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 1% to 7,377.73.

France's CAC 40 index bucked the negative trend, rising 0.2% to close at 5,127.70.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 24, 2017 12:17 ET (16:17 GMT)

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