European stocks were moving higher on Monday as German retail sales data for March beat forecasts, boosting hopes of a rapid economic recovery.
German retail sales grew by a real 7.7 percent on a monthly basis in March, Destatis reported. That was faster than the 2.7 percent increase in February and 3 percent rise economists had forecast.
On a yearly basis, retail sales rebounded 11 percent, reversing a 6.6 percent fall in the previous month and confounding expectations for a decrease of 0.3 percent.
Eurozone PMI Manufacturing was finalized at 62.9 in April, up from March’s 62.5, highest since record began in 1997, Markit said earlier in the day.
The pan European Stoxx 600 rose 0.3 percent to 438.63 after declining 0.3 percent on Friday. The German DAX rose half a percent and France’s CAC 40 index was up 0.4 percent, while the U.K. markets were closed for a public holiday.
Novartis shares gained about 1 percent. Sandoz, a Novartis unit, said it will begin enrolling the first patient in MYLIGHT, a clinical Phase III confirmatory efficacy and safety study, shortly.
Dutch telecom firm Royal KPN NV tumbled 3.6 percent. The company confirmed that it has rejected an unsolicited takeover offer from a private equity consortium comprising EQT and Stonepeak.
German medical technology company Siemens Healthineers rose over 1 percent.
The company has again raised outlook for fiscal 2021 based on continued strong business development in the second quarter and the transformative merger with Varian.
Market Analysis
European Shares Rise On Recovery Hopes
2021-05-03 09:24:52
