European equities fall as technology and auto shares weigh

(Reuters) – European stocks fell broadly on Monday after a week of strong gains, as poor German trade statistics hurt car manufacturers and SAP software maker led the tech sector down after have announced a new evolution of its direction.

The pan-regional STOXX 600 index lost 0.13% at 07:23 GMT, after reaching its highest level in eight months last week.

The German trade-sensitive DAX index fell 0.3%, breaking a seven-day winning streak – its longest since October 2017.

Earlier on Monday, data showed that German exports and imports fell more than expected in February, the latest sign that Europe's largest economy is likely to show weak growth in the first quarter.

Auto stocks underperformed after rising nearly 7% last week.

BMW, Daimler declined the invitation. European competition authorities have accused them of colluding to block the deployment of clean emissions technology.

Continental AG lost 1.7%, with Kepler Cheuvreux declining the auto parts maker to "hold" it to "buy".

In contrast, the United States of America. The automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) has increased after agreeing to pay the electric car manufacturer Tesla Inc. hundreds of millions of euros to allow its vehicles to be counted in its park so that 39, avoid fines for violating the new EU emissions rules.

SAP software company weighed the heaviest on the STOXX 600 index, down 1.5% as the most valuable technology company in Europe said the leader of its cloud trading group had resigned , the last of a series of starts in mind.

Irish equities, a barometer of Brexit sentiment, ended a six-day winning race.

The British government offered Sunday the possibility of a compromise with the opposition Labor Party to try to win the support of parliament after leaving the European Union with an agreement. British Prime Minister Theresa May is traveling to Brussels this week to request an extension until June 30th.

Banco BPM lost 1.3% while the third-largest Italian lender said it is interested in closer ties with banks near his country in the north of the country, commented a comment that a possible agreement with Monte dei Paschi di Siena could be minimized.

Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank fell by 0.4% and 1.5% respectively. European bank supervisors demanded a detailed roadmap indicating the pace and scale of staff cuts at the two lenders as they explored a merger, according to the German daily Handelsblatt.

The two German lenders are in favor of a simple merger over more complex ways of structuring an agreement, Reuters reported on Friday.