European markets were mixed on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at tariff "flexibility."

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was little-changed by 4 p.m. in London, with Germany's DAX down 0.06%, France's CAC 40 down 0.23%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 trading flat.

The travel and leisure sector was up 0.59% after London's Heathrow Airport reopened on Saturday following a power outage caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation that disrupted Friday service. British Airways owner IAG was up 0.9%.

Swedish defense firm Saab was up 4.5% after UBS upgraded its stock from neutral to buy, saying the company is "well-positioned for the defence spending upside."
Asia-Pacific markets were trading mostly higher Monday, but investors in the region are looking ahead to U.S. President Donald Trump's April 2 tariff deadline.

U.S. stocks opened higher, signaling that equities could extend their recent gains.

Last Friday, the three major U.S. averages closed higher, having rallied after Trump told reporters that there could potentially be "flexibility" for his reciprocal tariff plan. The president did stop short of suggesting that there could be some tariff exemptions, however, as he did similarly for automakers earlier in March.

On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported the tariffs are expected to be narrower in scope and will likely exclude some industry-specific duties, citing an administration official.
UK stocks hold slight gains after services sector activity improves
London's FTSE 250
index was 0.15% higher while the FTSE 100
was just above the flatline in late trade amid broader European stock market declines, after U.K. service sector activity was shown to have improved in March.

The Purchasing Managers' Index published by S&P Global earlier in the session showed output in Britain's dominant services sector rose to a six-month high, with a reading of 52, up from 50.5 in February.

However, the smaller manufacturing sector moved deeper into contraction territory.

Source: CNBC