European stocks kicked off the week in slightly negative territory on Monday, with market holidays in the U.S. and U.K. denting trading volumes.

Asia equity markets had a muted beginning to the week, with holidays set to slow activity world-wide, as investors shrugged off North Korea's latest missile launch. North Korea fired an unidentified projectile within about 320 kilometers of Japan's coastline, marking the third week in a row that it has launched a missile. "The market is quite desensitized" at this point, said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG Group. Monday's launch occurred as markets in China and Taiwan are closed for holidays. Markets in the U.K. and U.S. will also be closed for holidays.