European stocks remain mixed to lower in cautious trade; Dax down 0.12%

European stocks remained mixed to lower on Monday, as uncertainty over the future of the Federal Reserve bond-buying program weighed on market sentiment. 

During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged down 0.12%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.27%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.12%. 

Markets were jittery as concerns over the impact of the 16-day shutdown on the U.S. economic recovery fuelled expectations that the Fed would delay plans for rolling back its asset purchase program until at least the beginning of next year.

Investors were eyeing U.S. data releases later in the week after the shutdown delayed the release of some key economic reports. The September nonfarm payrolls report, which had been originally scheduled for release on October 4, was due on Tuesday. 

Financial stocks pushed ower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale tumbled 0.94% and 1.77%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank plummeted 1.86%. 

Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander declined 0.87% and 1.11% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit shed 0.36% and 0.67%. 

Elsewhere, German software company SAP surged 6.05% after saying third-quarter operating profit rose to EUR1.3 billion as revenue from the Hana database product climbed 79%. 

Adding to gains, Actelion saw shares rally 4.95% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved the use of Opsumit once daily for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension. 

In London, FTSE 100 added 0.18%, led by G4S, up 3.33%, following reports British private equity group Charterhouse Capital Partners was considering making a GBP1 billion offer for G4S's cash-solutions business. 

Also on the upside, mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton gained 0.73% and 0.70% respectively, while rivals Glencore Xstrata climbed 0.75% and Vedanta Resources surged 3%. 

Meanwhile, financial stocks remained mostly lower, as shares in Lloyds Banking lost 1.15% and Barclays tumbled 1.29%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland dove 5.20%. HSBC Holdings overperformed on the other hand, rising 0.15%. 

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.05% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.05% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.22% increase. 

Also Monday, data showed that German producer price inflation rose 0.3% from a month earlier in September, better than expectations for a 0.1% increase. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on existing home sales.