FTSE down 0.15%; DAX up 0.14%; CAC 40 up 0.20% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - London, 02 Sep - European shares closed mostly higher on the first trading day in September.

Investors remained on the sidelines as they looked for fresh direction, with the Stoxx 600 index down 0.30%.

Caution prevailed as the US markets are closed today for the Labor Day public holiday.

Traders digested data showing that eurozone factories remained stuck in a rut last month.

In August the eurozone's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector stood at 45.8, unchanged compared to July, according to final data released by S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank.

The preliminary reading was 45.6. The manufacturing output index was also at 45.8, up from 45.6 in the previous month, a two-month high. The preliminary reading was 45.7.

Data showed on Friday that eurozone inflation dropped to a three-year low of 2.2% in August, according to statistics agency Eurostat, in line with forecasts.

The reading boosted expectations for a September rate cut from the European Central Bank.

In the US, data released last week showed the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, was in line with estimates from economists polled by Dow Jones, rising 0.2% on a monthly basis in July and 2.5% from a year ago.

The London FTSE 100 closed down 0.15% at 8,363.84 points, the Frankfurt DAX gained 0.14% at 18,934.83 points, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.20% at 7,646.42 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB dropped 0.15% at 34,320.60 points, and in Madrid the IBEX 35 closed 0.05% higher at 11,408.13 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 02-09-24 18:06:40 (0441) 5 NNNN