European stock exchanges retreated this afternoon, with London's FTSE ending down seven at 6,480. Paris fell 0.4% to 5,917 while in Frankfurt the Dax dropped marginally to 7,336.
Dublin's ISEQ closed two points lower at 9,701, with DCC dropping 30 cent to €25.80 and C&C losing 26 to €12.34. Elan gained 27 to €11.22 ahead of Q1 results on Tuesday.
In London Barclays was more than 2% to just under 737p after agreeing to buy ABN Amro for about £45 billion, though the Dutch bank is also talking to a rival consortium.
Scottish & Newcastle added almost 3% to 585p after newspapers said Diageo and SABMiller, two of the world's most powerful drinks companies, had held detailed talks about breaking up the Edinburgh-based brewer.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was off four points at 12,958, having hit all-time high points last week, while the Nasdaq was down two at 2,525. Earlier in Tokyo, the Nikkei closed up marginally at 17,455 as a stronger yen unsettled nervous investors ahead of the domestic corporate results season, dealers said.
