Europe Markets: European stocks fall on the last day of August trading

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With London out of action for a holiday on Monday, European markets saw a lackluster day of trading, peppered by a big gain for Suez SA on deal news.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, -0.62% dropped 0.6% to 366.31, with the German DAX down 0.7% DAX, -0.67% and the French CAC 40 PX1, -1.11% down 1.1%. For the month, the Stoxx 600 is up around 3%.

A mostly weaker day — outside of technology stocks — for Wall Street kept a lid on gains in Europe, where investors mulled over a handful of deals.

Shares of Suez SA SEV, +18.50% soared 30% after French water and waste company Veolia Environnement SA said Sunday it made an offer to acquire a 29.9% stake in its peer from Engie SA ENGI, +4.67% at a price of €15.50.

Shares of Nestle SA NESN, -0.27% NSRGY, +0.01% climbed 1% after the food giant said it would buy the rest of U.S.-based biotech Aimmune Therapeutics AIMT, +171.15% that it doesn’t own. Aimmune makes a peanut allergy treatment that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Shares of Aimmune surged 171%.

On the downside, shares of Royal Philips NV PHG, -3.04% PHIA, -3.54% fell after the Dutch multinational conglomerate said that for full-year 2020, it expected to “deliver modest comparable sales growth with an adjusted EBITA margin of around the level of last year.” That came as Philips said its EV300 ventilator supply contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will end early.

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