This was CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

European markets closed just above the flatline on Monday as a shortened trading week began in the run-up to Christmas.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally ended the session 0.07% higher, with sectors in mixed territory.

Trading is expected to be relatively muted in the run-up to Christmas, with European markets set to be closed, or close early, for Christmas Eve and remain shut on Christmas Day.

Overnight, Asia-Pacific markets started the week on a positive note, with investors digesting a press conference relating to the merger of Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan.

The carmakers confirmed on Monday that they had begun merger talks. Shares of France's Renault, which owns a minority stake in Nissan, closed 1% higher.

Back in Europe, revised figures showed the U.K. economy flatlined in the third quarter of the year, with GDP growing 0% in the three months to September.

Europe stocks close flat

European stock markets closed mixed on Monday, with the Stoxx 600 index provisionally finishing 0.07% higher.

Travel and leisure stocks led losses, closing down 2%, while healthcare stocks gained 1.3%.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended the session 0.22% higher, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC closed 0.23% and 0.03% lower, respectively.

- April Roach

Uncertainty is the rule of the day: Teneo's Wolfango Piccoli

There will be much uncertainty for markets from January onwards, according to Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of political risk advisory at Teneo.

"I think we should get used to an environment where the norms and the rules that we have taken for a long time granted — they frame business, they provide the backdrop since the Second World War — there is a huge shift, [and] these rules will be changing," Piccoli told CNBC's "Street Signs Europe" on Monday.

Piccoli said he expects lots of "political activism" from President-elect Donald Trump which will lead to a significant amount of uncertainty next year.

- April Roach

Auto industry in Japan is primed for consolidation: Mergermarket

Government efforts to boost competitiveness against Chinese rivals and the Tokyo Stock Exchange's push for undervalued automakers to improve corporate value are among the factors fueling consolidation in Japan's auto industry, according to Mergermarket.

Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan confirmed Monday that they had begun merger talks.

Vivian Wong, head of M&A analytics, APAC at Mergermarket, said shifts in Japan's merger and acquisition market have recently gained momentum.

"The sector's solid structure, with many firms holding shares in each other, is gradually dissolving as strategic partnerships are actively unwinding cross-shareholdings," she said in an emailed statement.

"This is fueling a surge in sector M&A activity, which skyrocketed by 163% in 2024 to USD 10.2 billion."

- April Roach

High rates, tariffs and bond vigilantes: Veteran strategist outlines market risks for 2025

David Roche, strategist at Quantum Strategy, on Monday outlined a number of potential risks facing markets in 2025.

"I think the market risk is this, number one if anything bad happens to markets worldwide, it'll happen first in the United States. And a pure market risk I would say, is that if interest rates don't go down anymore, they could well go up in the second half of the year," Roche told CNBC's "Street Signs Europe."

This would happen if President-elect Donald Trump's policies don't work, Roche added when referring to how interest rates could go up in the second half of 2025.

- April Roach

Aviva, Direct Line to cut up to 7% of workforce

British insurer Aviva said that after acquiring rival Direct Line the companies' combined workforce would be reduced by up to 7%.

Job cuts would be mitigated by existing job openings as well as "natural attrition," the company said in a statement on Monday. Aviva turned over around 1,300 employees in the U.K. in 2024, the company noted.

— Chloe Taylor

Ukraine economy grew 2% in third quarter, authorities say

The Ukrainian economy grew 2% year-on-year in the three months to September, according to a Google-translated flash estimate published by the country's Statistics Agency on Monday. Real GDP was also up by 0.2% from the previous quarter, the figures showed.

Ukraine's GDP growth has stabilized over the course of the year, according to the agency's data, after recovering from a downturn triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion.

— Chloe Taylor

Volkswagen shares fall

Shares of German autos giant Volkswagen dropped on Monday, trading down around 3% at 1 p.m. London time.

Investors were reacting to a deal reached between the company and its striking German workers on Friday, terms of which included cutting 35,000 jobs by 2030 and slashing production capacity to reduce costs.

— Chloe Taylor

Evolution shares tank

Shares of Swedish online gambling firm Evolution sank to the bottom of the Stoxx 600 on Monday, with the stock down 10.7% at 12:06 p.m. London time.

Evolution said late on Friday it had been placed under review by the U.K. Gambling Commission, after the regulator discovered the company's games were accessible in Britain through unlicensed operators.

The company said the review may have various outcomes, ranging from no action being taken to Evolution having its license to operate revoked. It also noted in its statement that around 3% of its revenue is from the U.K. market.

— Chloe Taylor

Novo Nordisk shares recover some ground after Friday plunge

Shares of Danish pharmaceuticals giant Novo Nordisk recovered some ground after weaker-than-expected results for its experimental CagriSema weight loss drug led to a sweeping selloff on Friday.

The company's Danish-listed stock was up 8.44% at 11:46 a.m. London time, with its U.S.-listed shares rising almost 5% in premarket trading.

It comes after shares fell over 20% on Friday.

— Ruxandra Iordache

UK borrowing costs rise

Yields on British 10-year gilts crept higher on Monday, gaining 2 basis points to trade at 4.532% by 10:46 a.m. London time.

It came after revised GDP figures showed the U.K. economy flatlined in the three months to September.

U.K. borrowing costs hit a one-year high last week, but have since retreated from those levels.

— Chloe Taylor

Aviva agrees deal to buy Direct Line in $4.7 billion deal

British insurer Aviva has reached an agreement to buy competitor Direct Line, the companies announced Monday.

The cash and share offer will compensate Direct Line shareholders with 0.2867 Aviva shares for each Direct Line share held, as well as 129.7 pence ($1.63) in cash and up to 5 pence in dividends.

The companies said the agreement valued Direct Line's entire diluted share capital at around £3.7 billion ($4.65 billion), based on Aviva stock's closing price on Nov. 27.

Aviva's London-listed shares were 0.3% higher at 10 a.m. London time, while shares of Direct Line gained 3%.

— Chloe Taylor

UK economy stalled in the third quarter

Britain's economy failed to achieve any growth in the three months to September, revised figures from the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics showed on Monday.

A preliminary estimate for the third quarter, published by the ONS last month, said U.K. GDP grew at 0.1% during the period. However, the final data released on Monday showed 0% GDP growth from the previous quarter.

Earlier this month, data from the ONS showed the U.K. economy had unexpectedly contracted in October.

— Chloe Taylor

Honda, Nissan schedule press conference amid merger reports

Vehicle making giants Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi have scheduled a joint press conference for 8 a.m. London time on Monday, amid rumors that Honda and Nissan are set to begin merger negotiations.

Reports of a potential tie-up first emerged last week, boosting shares of French carmaker Renault, which owns a minority stake in Nissan. Mitsubishi is an existing partner of Renault and Nissan.

— Chloe Taylor

CNBC Pro: 'The next Nvidia': Broadcom is the AI chip stock to own in 2025, investor says

Broadcom is more likely to deliver big gains for investors in 2025 than AI chip leader Nvidia, according to fund manager Stephen Yiu.

Yiu, portfolio manager of the Blue Whale Growth Fund, said that while Big Tech giants, such as Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta Platforms, had bought up Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) in vast quantities, they were now also developing their own custom chips for artificial intelligence applications in an effort to diversify.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets are expected to open higher Monday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 8 points higher at 8,098, Germany's DAX up 12 points at 19,919, France's CAC up 7 points at 7,291 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 76 points at 34,031, according to data from IG.

Data releases include final U.K. and Spanish economic growth data.

— Holly Ellyatt