Investing.com - European stock markets were higher on Monday, as investor confidence improved amid a brighter global economic growth and after euro zone finance ministers agreed to strengthen the firepower of the region’s bailout fund.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.29%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.52%, while Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 1.05%.
Stocks found support after government data on Sunday showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to an 11-month high of 53.1 in March, up from a reading of 51.0 the previous month and beating analysts’ forecasts.
The data eased concerns over the possibility of a slowdown in the world’s largest economy, but investors remained cautious ahead of manufacturing data from the U.K. and the U.S. later in the day.
Sentiment also improved after euro zone finance ministers agreed on Friday to boost the bloc's bailout lending limit to EUR800 billion, in order to combat the threat of sovereign debt contagion to larger economies such as Italy and Spain.
Mining companies led gains following the Chinese data as shares in German power and gas company E.ON AG climbed 0.72%, while electric utilities firm RWE AG added 0.21% and France’s oil and gas giant Total surged 2.26%.
Cimpor-Cimentos de Portugal SGPS SA also added to gains, with shares soaring 9.88% after Brazil’s Camargo Correa offered to buy the shares it doesn’t already own in the company for EUR2.48 billion.
On the downside, European lenders posted sharp losses. Shares in France’s Societe Generale and BNP Paribas tumbled 1.48% and 1.22% respectively, while German Deutsche Bank declined 0.50%.
Peripheral lenders were also broadly lower, led by Spain’s Banco Santander, down 1.39%, and BBVA shedding 0.79%. Shares in Italian lenders Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit slumped 0.30% and 0.69%.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.51%, supported by strong gains in the mining sector.
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, was one of the session’s top gainers with shares jumping 1.88%, while Bhp Billiton advanced 1.39%.
Copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys weren’t far behind as shares surged 1.78% and 2.37% respectively.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders were mixed. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.87%, while Lloyds Banking, HSBC Holdings and Barclays lost 0.94%, 0.63% and 0.39% respectively.
The Royal Bank of Scotland announced earlier that it managed to salvage some of its money from the collapse of computer game retailer Game after private investment firm OpCapita purchased the company in a move that secured the jobs of 270 Scottish workers.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.29%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.37% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.41% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report by the Institute of Supply Management on manufacturing activity.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.29%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.52%, while Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 1.05%.
Stocks found support after government data on Sunday showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to an 11-month high of 53.1 in March, up from a reading of 51.0 the previous month and beating analysts’ forecasts.
The data eased concerns over the possibility of a slowdown in the world’s largest economy, but investors remained cautious ahead of manufacturing data from the U.K. and the U.S. later in the day.
Sentiment also improved after euro zone finance ministers agreed on Friday to boost the bloc's bailout lending limit to EUR800 billion, in order to combat the threat of sovereign debt contagion to larger economies such as Italy and Spain.
Mining companies led gains following the Chinese data as shares in German power and gas company E.ON AG climbed 0.72%, while electric utilities firm RWE AG added 0.21% and France’s oil and gas giant Total surged 2.26%.
Cimpor-Cimentos de Portugal SGPS SA also added to gains, with shares soaring 9.88% after Brazil’s Camargo Correa offered to buy the shares it doesn’t already own in the company for EUR2.48 billion.
On the downside, European lenders posted sharp losses. Shares in France’s Societe Generale and BNP Paribas tumbled 1.48% and 1.22% respectively, while German Deutsche Bank declined 0.50%.
Peripheral lenders were also broadly lower, led by Spain’s Banco Santander, down 1.39%, and BBVA shedding 0.79%. Shares in Italian lenders Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit slumped 0.30% and 0.69%.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.51%, supported by strong gains in the mining sector.
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, was one of the session’s top gainers with shares jumping 1.88%, while Bhp Billiton advanced 1.39%.
Copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys weren’t far behind as shares surged 1.78% and 2.37% respectively.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders were mixed. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.87%, while Lloyds Banking, HSBC Holdings and Barclays lost 0.94%, 0.63% and 0.39% respectively.
The Royal Bank of Scotland announced earlier that it managed to salvage some of its money from the collapse of computer game retailer Game after private investment firm OpCapita purchased the company in a move that secured the jobs of 270 Scottish workers.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.29%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.37% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.41% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report by the Institute of Supply Management on manufacturing activity.