European Stocks Close On Firm Note

European stocks closed higher on Monday with investors closely following the developments on the geopolitical front, and looking ahead to a slew of economic data from the region for clues on the European Central Bank’s interest rate trajectory.

Eurozone preliminary flash GDP, consumer confidence and economic sentiment data are due on Wednesday.

Confidence among U.K. businesses fell to its lowest in four months in October as they adopted a cautious stance ahead of the first budget presentation by the new chancellor Rachel Reeves later this week, results of a survey showed today.

The Lloyds Business Barometer fell three points to 44%, the lowest score since June, the survey that covered 1,200 companies between October 1 – 15 revealed.

Euro zone yields climbed, and the British pound was seeing a sideways movement ahead of British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s new government’s first budget to be unveiled on Wednesday and the release of the widely watched monthly U.S. jobs report due on Friday.

In the run-up to the U.K. Budget, a survey showed business confidence in the U.K. dropped to a four-month low in October.

Shares of oil companies were under pressure as crude prices plunged to four-week lows amid easing fears of a Middle East war. Investors heaved a sigh of relief as Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend avoided the OPEC member’s oil facilities.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.46%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.53%, Germany’s DAX closed up 0.34% and France’s CAC 40 ended stronger by 0.89%, while Switzerland’s SMI ended 0.44% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher. Poland edged up marginally.

Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Russia ended weak.

In the UK market, Melrose Industries soared nearly 10%.

Easyjet and Pearson climbed 2.8% and 2.69%, respectively. Halma, Natwest Group, Convatec Group and Informa advanced 2 to 2.75%.

Diploma, Entain, Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey, Standard Chartered, Persimmon, Anglo American Plc, Smith & Nephew, ICG, Howden Joinery, WPP, Frasers Group and IAG gained 1.5 to 1.8%.

Lloyds Banking Group ended down 2.7%. Whitbread, Endeavour Mining, BP, Shell and BT Group lost 1 to 1.7%.

In the German market, Fresenius climbed more than 2%. HeidelbergCement, Puma, Munich RE, Deutsche Boerse, Bayer, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Post, Hannover Rueck, E.On, Sartorius, Rheinmetall and Allianz gained 0.7 to 1.8%.

Porsche dropped about 5.5%. Siemens Healthineers closed down 3.4% and Adidas ended 1.6% down.

In the French market, ArcelorMittal, Vinci and Danone gained 2.8 to 3.2%.Veolia gained nearly 2.5% following a rating upgrade by RBC.

Kering, Publicis Groupe, Edenred, Bouygues, Air Liquide, Michelin, Saint Gobain, AXA, Accor and Legrand climbed 1.3 to 2.4%.

Eurofins Scientific closed modestly higher. The company, which is focused on bio-analytical testing said that it has inked a deal with Synlab to acquire its clinical diagnostics operations in Spain for an undisclosed amount.

TotalEnergies ended notably lower, after Israel refrained from retaliating to Iran’s missile strike by attacking its oil infrastructure, tempering supply concerns from the Middle East.

Philips shares plunged nearly 17% after the Dutch medical devices maker cut its annual sales outlook, citing deteriorating demand from consumers and hospitals in China.

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