European Shares Rise After Strong PMI Data

European stocks rebounded from their worst weekly decline since October on Monday after data showed Euro zone manufacturing growth remained resilient at the start of the year.

IHS Markit’s final Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 54.8 in January from December’s 55.2 amid renewed lockdown measures across the continent. However, that was a tad above the initial 54.7 “flash” estimate.

The U.K. manufacturing sector activity improved more-than-expected in January, with the final PMI rising to 54.1 versus 52.9 expected and 52.9 in the first readout.

Also helping boost investor sentiment, AstraZeneca said it would deliver 9 million additional vaccine doses to the European Union in the first quarter of this year and added that deliveries will start one week earlier than expected.

Meanwhile, investors shrugged off data from Destatis showing that German retail sales decreased sharply in December due to the restrictions imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rallied 1.2 percent to 400.64 after plunging 1.9 percent on Friday. The German DAX jumped 1.4 percent, France’s CAC 40 index climbed 1.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.9 percent.

Mining stocks rallied after silver prices surged to a five-month high in a Reddit-fueled frenzy. Fresnillo shares soared nearly 20 percent, Polymetal International surged 6.8 percent and Boliden AB added 4 percent.

ASOS rallied 3.8 percent after announcing it has acquired four brands from beleaguered Arcadia Group.

Ryanair Holdings fell about 1 percent after it reported a €306mln quarterly loss and warned that fiscal year 2021 will continue to be the most challenging year in the company’s 35 year history.

JD Sports Fashion jumped almost 7 percent after the sportswear retailer entered a conditional agreement to buy Baltimore-based DTLR Villa LLC for $495 million.

Siemens Healthineers shares were up 1.8 percent. The company reported that its first-quarter net income climbed 44 percent to 437 million euros from last year’s 304 million euros.

Julius Baer, Switzerland’s third-largest listed bank, lost 2 percent despite reporting a 50 percent rise in 2020 net profit and announcing a 450 million franc share buyback from March.

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