Euro zone factory activity contracted in July
German retail sales post biggest yearonyear slump since 1994
HSBC rebuffs Ping An call for breakup, profit beats
European banks jump 1.9, STOXX 600 adds 0.2

Aug 1 Reuters European shares edged up on Monday as a jump in banking stocks after HSBC39;s strong results offset fears of a global economic slowdown fanned by disappointing Chinese economic data and figures showing contraction in euro zone manufacturing activity.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 rose 0.2 in volatile trade.

The biggest boost to the index came from Londonlisted HSBC that jumped 5.7 on posting a profit that beat expectations. The company also pushed back on a proposal by top shareholder Ping An Insurance Group Co of China to split the lender, arguing the move would be costly.

The banking index climbed 1.9.

We39;ve had a bit of a positive boost to the banking sector from the initial rising interest rates … the problem for the sector is further down the road as we get the economic slowdown everybody is anticipating, said Stuart Cole, head macro economist at Equiti Capital.

European stocks posted their best monthly performance on Friday since November 2020 helped by strong earnings from corporate Europe, even as broader sentiment remained fragile on fears of an economic slowdown.

Adding to concerns the bloc could fall into a recession, data on Monday showed manufacturing activity across the euro zone contracted last month with factories forced to…