LONDON — European stocks are expected to open slightly lower on Monday, tracking Asian markets as investors react to a flurry of weaker-than-anticipated economic data.Of the major bourses, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index was on track to open down 48 points at 7,173, France’s CAC was seen 31 points lower at 6,862 and Germany’s DAX was expected to open down 71 points at 15,906, according to IG.European stocks closed out a tenth consecutive positive trading session on Friday, shortly after MSCI’s aggregate gauge of global stock markets hit a new record high.Stocks on Wall Street also notched record highs last week even as concerns over the highly transmissible delta Covid variant persisted.Shares in Asia-Pacific dipped on Monday as data showed China recorded a surprisingly sharp slowdown last month. Figures on July retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment all missed forecasts.Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:Jefferies picks the global robot and health stocks to play a population ‘mega trend’Wall Street analysts really love these five stocks in the DowCathie Wood loads up on Palantir, with purchases worth nearly $140 million20 strategists predict when stocks will have the next big tumble — and how far they’ll fallChina’s National Bureau of Statistics cited the impact of a range of factors, including growing external uncertainties, the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic and flooding. The bureau added that the “economic recovery is still unstable and uneven.”Meanwhile, market participants closely monitored the potential geopolitical implications of the sudden collapse of the Afghanistan government. Taliban insurgents over the weekend pushed their frontlines into the capital city of Kabul after a succession of shocking battlefield reversals, spurred by the exodus of U.S. and coalition forces.cnbc.com