European stocks closed higher on Monday amid rising hopes about global economic recovery gathering momentum on faster rollout of vaccines and optimism about U.S. economic stimulus.
According to reports, new cases of coronavirus infections have slowed down a bit in different parts of the world.
In the U.S., Democrats have taken the first steps toward passing President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package without Republican support but continue to favor a bipartisan approach.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.3% up. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.53%, France’s CAC 40 closed higher by 0.47% and Germany’s DAX edged up 0.02%, while Switzerland’s SMI gained 0.22%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkey ended higher.
Belgium, Czech Republic, Ireland, Spain and Ukraine ended flat, while Denmark and Poland closed weak.
In the UK market, Evraz, BP, Anglo American, Antofagasta, Aveva Group, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, Rio Tinto, BHP Group, Mondi, Experian, Glencore, Standard Chartered, Coca-Cola and Royal Dutch Shell gained 2 to 4%.
On the other hand, JD Sports Fashion, Whitbread, Ocado Group, Smurfit Kappa Group, Barratt Developments, Smith, M&G and Informa ended sharply lower. Rolls-Royce Holdings ended nearly 1% down on reports the company is planning to shut down its jet engine factories this summer due to insufficient work.
In the German market, Thyssenkrupp gained more than 4% and Infineon Technologies ended nearly 4% up. Deutsche Bank, Covestro and Volkswagen also closed notably higher. RWE ended more than 3% down.
In France, Dassault Systemes, ArcelorMittal, Capgemini, Essilor, STMicroElectronics, Saint Gobain, Vinci and BNP Paribas gained 1 to 3%, while Technip, Accor and Veolia declined sharply.
Dialog Semiconductor soared more than 16% after Renesas Electronics Corp said it had agreed to buy the chip designer for 4.9 billion euros in cash.
In economic news, Germany’s industrial production remained flat in December, data from Destatis revealed.
Industrial production was unchanged compared to previous month, following a revised 1.5% rise in November. Economists had forecast a 0.3% rise for December.
On a yearly basis, the decline in industrial output eased to 1% from 2.5% a month ago.
Germany’s business sentiment index came in at 8.6 in February, down from 9.2 in January. While the current situation index rose to -15.5, the highest since March 2020, the expectations index fell to 35.8 from 37.5.
Eurozone investor confidence dropped in February as the slower pace of vaccination weighed on both the assessment of current situation and expectations, survey data from Sentix showed. The investor sentiment index fell unexpectedly to -0.2 in February from +1.3 in the previous month. Economists had forecast the index to rise to 1.9.
The current situation index declined to -27.5 from -26.5 in January. Likewise, the expectations index dropped to 31.5 from 33.5.
Switzerland’s jobless rate was stable in January, coming in at a seasonally adjusted 3.5%, same as seen in December, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed. This was in line with economists’ expectation.
On an unadjusted basis, the unemployment rate rose to 3.7% in January from 3.5% in the previous month. Economists had forecast a rate of 3.4%.
Market Analysis
European Stocks Close Higher On Stimulus Optimism, Recovery Hopes
2021-02-08 18:50:09
