Premium-Beer Segment Drives Heineken First-Half Profit 6.5% Higher

European stocks were mixed on Monday, as Greek stocks tumbled on the first day of trading – with some restrictions -- after a five-week forced hiatus. Financial stocks including National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank led the Athens Stock Exchange down more than 20%, though it recovered a bit by the end of the morning. Fortunately for the rest of the common currency area, the euro-zone manufacturing economy is still going strong, as shown in a report from Markit Economics. In Amsterdam, Heineken rose on better than expected first-half results from the world No. 3 brewer. HSBC Holdings rose in London after Europe’s second-largest lender posted a 10% jump in first-half pre-tax profit and sealed a deal to sell its loss-making Brazil cost for $5.2 billion to Banco Bradesco.