By Nina Bains European stocks wavered cautiously in positive territory Monday while the dollar weakened against rivals, particularly the yen, ahead of a raft of key U.S. economic releases and a trio of central bank rate announcements later in the week. By midday, Europe's major stock indices were modestly higher, maintaining small gains posted early in the session. Germany's DAX rose 0.3%, France's CAC-40 advanced 0.4% while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was also 0.4% higher. Sentiment was helped by the news that Italy had sold 8.5 billion euros ($11.28 billion) of six-month treasury bills, paying lower funding costs than a month ago. Upbeat corporate news also offered some support in otherwise cautious trade. Media stocks rose after Omnicom Group Inc. and Publicis Groupe SA announced a merger Sunday, to create the world's largest advertising holding company, usurping current market leader WPP PLC. Still, WPP shares rallied in London, briefly topping the FTSE 100 blue-chip index. "With [Publicis and Omnicom] going through integration and with some likely client losses, the merger may provide WPP with some opportunities, at least in the short term," analysts at Liberum Capital said in a research note to clients. French rival Havas shares soared over 5%, while Publicis shares are scheduled to start trading at 1330 GMT. Shares in Danone advanced after the food group posted better-than-expected growth in the second quarter and confirmed its full-year targets. Siemens shares gained after the German engineering giant said Saturday its supervisory board would vote this week on the early departure of the president and CEO. In London, shares in Reckitt Benckiser Group had a strong showing following first-half results. Group revenue rose 6%, slightly above consensus analyst estimates. On the downside, Barclays PLC was under pressure after it said it was in talks with the Prudential Regulatory Authority regarding its financial and capital management plans, adding it would update the market about a possible equity issuance alongside its midyear results Tuesday. Elsewhere, shares in Dublin-listed Elan Corp. soared after drug maker Perrigo Co. agreed to buy the Irish biotech firm for $8.6 billion. Still, moves across most asset classes were muted ahead of key economic releases this week, including U.S. nonfarm payrolls and gross domestic product data. Central bank rate announcements from the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England later in the week will also be pivotal for sentiment and a potential source of volatility. U.S. stock futures pointed slightly lower ahead of the open on Wall Street. Pending home sales data are due later in the session followed by GDP figures and the U.S. central rate announcement, both on Wednesday. "This week will be one of the busiest weeks of the year in terms of U.S. economic events," analysts at ABN Amro said in a note to clients. "Incoming data suggest that growth in the second quarter most likely was weak...The soft GDP report makes it highly unlikely that the Fed will announce a tapering of its asset purchases during Wednesday's meeting, despite recent strong labour market reports."

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