European stocks are stable and Telecom Italia is the biggest loser in the euro area

European stocks were flat on Monday, as continued gains in mining stocks, on the back of bets on demand recovery in China, offset losses in Telecom Italia, which led the decline in stocks in the eurozone.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was little changed after rising slightly at the start of trading.

The basic resources index jumped 1.4 percent after industrial metal prices rose, hoping for a recovery in demand from China, the largest consumer, and supported by disruptions in global mining supplies.

This also led to higher oil prices and gains for European energy stocks by 0.3 percent.

The Euro Stoxx index, which includes the largest companies in the eurozone, fell 0.1 percent.

Telecom Italia shares fell 3 percent after a government-sponsored bid failed to pass an order from US investment bank KKR to take over the country’s mobile monopoly at the weekend.

Global markets faltered for much of last week after higher-than-expected US inflation data added to evidence that sharp interest rate increases have not yet calmed prices to the Federal Reserve’s satisfaction.

Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International fell nearly 7 percent after Reuters reported that the US sanctions authority had investigated the bank’s Russia-related business.

The European auto and auto parts sector index rose 0.6 percent.