Investing.com – European stocks posted sharp gains in the first trading session of the year amid low trade volume on Monday as markets in London remained closed for the New Year’s holiday.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 surged 1.37%; France’s CAC 40 soared 2.14%; while Germany's DAX jumped 1.57%.
Shares in the automaker sector, which was the best-performing sector in Europe in 2010, led markets higher.
Luxury automaker Porsche saw shares soar 11.87% after a U.S. federal judge dismissed a USD2 billion lawsuit by ten hedge fund groups, accusing the German automaker of misleading short-sellers in its acquisition of Volkswagen shares in 2008.
Shares in Volkswagen, meanwhile, jumped 3.13% after it said on Sunday that it planned to extend CEO Martin Winterkorn’s contract by five years to 2017.
Elsewhere within the sector, BMW saw shares climb 2.07%, shares in French automaker Peugeot rallied 2.80%, while rivals Renault saw shares gain 1.84%.
Meanwhile, shares in the financial sector were broadly higher, as shares in Spain’s largest lender Banco Santander jumped 1.86% after China's Vice Premier Li Keqiang said earlier Monday that Chinese officials have faith in Spain's financial system and would continue to take part in government debt auctions.
Shares in Spain’s second biggest bank BBVA surged 1.98%, Italy’s largest lender Unicredit saw shares climb 3.46%, while global financial service provider Societe Generale saw shares add 1.98%.
Elsewhere, shares in France’s biggest publisher Lagardere rallied 6.34% after it said it was in exclusive talks with U.S. publishing giant Hearst Corporation to sell its international magazine business for an undisclosed fee. The negotiations are to remain exclusive until January 30.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.16%, S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.18% and Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to an increase of 0.28%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on manufacturing activity as well as a report on construction spending.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 surged 1.37%; France’s CAC 40 soared 2.14%; while Germany's DAX jumped 1.57%.
Shares in the automaker sector, which was the best-performing sector in Europe in 2010, led markets higher.
Luxury automaker Porsche saw shares soar 11.87% after a U.S. federal judge dismissed a USD2 billion lawsuit by ten hedge fund groups, accusing the German automaker of misleading short-sellers in its acquisition of Volkswagen shares in 2008.
Shares in Volkswagen, meanwhile, jumped 3.13% after it said on Sunday that it planned to extend CEO Martin Winterkorn’s contract by five years to 2017.
Elsewhere within the sector, BMW saw shares climb 2.07%, shares in French automaker Peugeot rallied 2.80%, while rivals Renault saw shares gain 1.84%.
Meanwhile, shares in the financial sector were broadly higher, as shares in Spain’s largest lender Banco Santander jumped 1.86% after China's Vice Premier Li Keqiang said earlier Monday that Chinese officials have faith in Spain's financial system and would continue to take part in government debt auctions.
Shares in Spain’s second biggest bank BBVA surged 1.98%, Italy’s largest lender Unicredit saw shares climb 3.46%, while global financial service provider Societe Generale saw shares add 1.98%.
Elsewhere, shares in France’s biggest publisher Lagardere rallied 6.34% after it said it was in exclusive talks with U.S. publishing giant Hearst Corporation to sell its international magazine business for an undisclosed fee. The negotiations are to remain exclusive until January 30.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.16%, S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.18% and Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to an increase of 0.28%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on manufacturing activity as well as a report on construction spending.