European shares dip as oil rally fizzles

European stocks decline on Monday after shares in major oil and gas companies lose ground.

London - European shares fell on Monday, with shares in major oil and gas companies losing ground as an oil price rally fizzled out.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which rose 3 percent on Friday to mark its first weekly gain for 2016, fell 0.3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX also both fell by 0.1 percent.

Oil prices lost ground, after having rallied 10 percent on Friday. The shares of companies such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total were lower.

However, Italian bank stocks rose, led by Monte Paschi .

Monte Paschi, whose shares touched record lows last week, climbed 5.3 percent after its chairman told an Italian newspaper that the bank did not need a cash call and had a very strong liquidity position.

REUTERS