The European markets were mixed on the session Monday.
The Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.06 percent to 1,519.09, while the Paris CAC-40 added 0.04 percent to 5,646.36 and the Dax was up 0.6 percent to 7,456.31 in Frankfurt.
In Madrid, the IBEX was 0.54 percent lower to 14,508.3.
Banks were lower on the day, largely on concerns about their exposure to the subprime sector in the United States.
Commerzbank (FWB: CBK) was the worst performer on the Dax, dropping 3.06 percent to €30.73 after it announced provisions it was making for possible losses due to exposure to the US subprime sector.
Elsewhere in the sector, Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) was down 0.88 percent to €96.97 on the news that it is a finalist in the bidding for insurer Abbey Life, the closed life insurance unit of Lloyds TSB (LSE: LLOY).
Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) fell 1.77 percent to €123.52.
Car and truck makers were mixed on the session.
Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) added 0.9 percent to €60.29, while Volkswagen (FWB: VOW; OTC: VLKAY) gained 2.95 percent to €128.46 after Unicredit (FWB: CRI; ISE: UC) raised its recommendation from “sell” to “hold”.
Truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) was 2.86 percent higher to €103.11.
On the other hand, Renault (Euronext: RNO) dropped 0.83 percent to €102.40.
In a related sector, tire maker Michelin (Euronext: ML) had the best day on the CAC-40 as it added 3.82 percent to €93.52.
The best performer on the Dax was industrial gases group Linde (FWB: LIN), which gained 5.37 percent to €88.37 after it reported that profits were 5.9 percent higher in the second quarter and raised its full-year forecast.
Media group Lagardere (Euronext: MMB) had the worst day in Paris, falling 1.92 percent to €58.20.