By Pranav Kashyap
(Reuters) - European shares fluctuated on Monday after their best weekly gain in three months, as investors braced for a data-heavy week with a focus on U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole for clues on potential rate cuts.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index moved between -0.1% and 0.1% during the morning session. It was last up 0.1% at 512.05 points.
Defence stocks fell, with Rheinmetall, BAE Systems (LON:BAES), Saab Ab, Thales , Leonardo and Dassault Aviation down between 1.6% and 6% following reports that Berlin will limit military aid to Ukraine due to budget restrictions.
The industrial goods and services sector, housing almost all defence companies, lost 0.2%.
Basic resources rose to the top with a 1.3% gain after copper prices ticked 1.1% higher with fears of a U.S. recession fading. [MET/L]
The benchmark index has recovered all losses from a recent sell-off and returned to the 511 level that was last seen on August 1.
"The consolidation phase is going last for the next few days.. It's at that point where indecision creeps in again. It's now back to assessing what's out there and how these factors can impact," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
Following a data-packed week that propelled the STOXX 600 to its best performance in three months, investors are now gearing up for another week brimming with crucial economic data.
Markets await the release of flash Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data from France, Germany, Britain, and the Eurozone, alongside the U.S. PMI numbers and initial jobless claims data due later this week.
However, the main focus this week is the global central bank gathering at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Powell is expected to speak on Friday and likely give some cues on the Fed's monetary policy path.
"Jackson Hole can be very important and is definitely going to set up momentum for traders," Hathorn added.
"Anything that gives traders insight on where we can see monetary policy going, that's definitely going to impact the U.S .assets and spill over to European equities,".
Markets have fully-priced in a quarter-point cut on by the Fed that meets in less than a month, according to LSEG's Fedwatch tool.
Elsewhere, Nexans dropped 3.3%, after Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) cut its rating on the French power cable supplier's stock to "Neutral" from "Buy".