European Stocks Moving Higher On Bargain Hunting

European stocks are firmly entrenched in positive territory around noon on Monday, bouncing back strongly thanks to hectic bargain hunting at several counters following the previous session’s sell-off.

Traders appear to be betting on growth despite concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus that emerged last week. The World Health Organization, which held an emergency meeting on Friday, declared the new virus variant a matter of concern, noting its transmissibility and named it the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The new variant has been red-flagged by scientists over an alarmingly high number of spike mutations that might make the virus more resistant to vaccines.

According to reports, the Omicron variant has been found in the U.K., Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Australia and Hong Kong.

The potential of more countries reinstating full lockdowns sparked worries the pandemic could once again weigh down the global economy. Many countries, including the U.S., have already moved to restrict travel from southern Africa.

Meanwhile, Moderna Inc’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton said Sunday the vaccine maker could roll out a reformulated vaccine against the omicron variant early next year.

The pan European Stoxx 600 is up 1.11%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 is climbing 1.25%, Germany’s DAX is up 0.87% and France’s CAC 40 is surging up 1.27%, while Switzerland’s SMI is advancing nearly 0.5%.

In the UK market, BT Group shares are rising more than 6% on reports Indian oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries is likely to make a potential bid to buy a stake in the British telecom giant.

Compass Group, IAG, Johnson Matthey, JD Sports Fashion, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Whitbread, ICP, Rolls-Royce Holdings, British Land Co, Entain, Land Securities and Barratt Developments are gaining 2.5 to 5.2%.

In the French market, Technip, ArcelorMittal, Kering, Hermes International, Capgemini, Saint Gobain, Veolia, Societe Generale, Airbus Group, Air-France-KLM and Vinci are gaining 1.4 to 3.5%.

Faurecia is down more than 5% after lowering its full-year guidance. Valeo and Carrefour are also notably lower.

In Germany, RWE is up nearly 4%. E.ON, Munich RE, Infineon Technologies, Vonovia, Deutsche Bank, Puma, SAP, Deutsche Wohnen and Linde are gaining 1.5 to 4%.

In economic news, Eurozone economic confidence weakened to a six-month low in November largely due to the deterioration in consumer sentiment, survey results from the European Commission showed.

The Eurozone economic sentiment index fell to 117.5 in November, in line with expectations, from 118.6 in the previous month. This was the lowest score since May.

The weakness in overall confidence was driven by a marked decline in consumer confidence, while sentiment remained broadly unchanged in industry and services and improved in retail trade and construction.

The industrial sentiment indicator came in at 14.1, down slightly from October’s 14.2. The expected level was 13.9. At the same time, the services confidence index rose to 18.4 from 18.0 a month ago. Economists had forecast the index to fall to 16.6.

By contrast, the consumer confidence indicator declined to -6.8 from -4.8 in the previous month. The score matched the preliminary estimate.

Data on Germany’s consumer price inflation is due later in the day.