European Shares Rally Ahead Of Central Bank Meetings

(RTTNews) - European stocks rallied Monday after two straight weeks of losses, as oil prices bounced back from multi-week lows and investors looked ahead to the FOMC and BOJ decisions.

Benchmark U.S. crude futures jumped about 2 percent during European hours after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday that a deal between OPEC and non-OPEC countries to stabilize oil markets could be announced this month.

The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee's two-day policy meeting ends on Wednesday, with investors likely to focus on the accompanying statement for clues about the future path for interest rates.

The Bank of Japan will also wrap up its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday amid speculation it will probably cut the rate on some bank reserves further below zero.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.9 percent in late opening deals after declining 0.7 percent to hit a six-week low in the previous session.

The German DAX was up 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 index was rallying 1.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was moving up 1.3 percent.

Energy stocks Tullow Oil, BP Plc, Total SA and Royal Dutch Shell climbed about 2 percent each, while miners Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto jumped 3-4 percent.

Rolls Royce Holdings advanced 2 percent in London on reports that it is reducing more than 200 positions from its middle management.

Weir Group gained 3.5 percent after analysts at JP Morgan upgraded their rating on the stock to 'overweight.'

Novartis gained 1 percent after the Swiss pharmaceutical firm released an analysis related to its heart failure drug Entresto.

Food services and facilities management group Sodexo rose more than 2 percent in Paris after an upgrade by analysts at Raymond James Financial Inc.

Sanofi shares rose over 1 percent. The French pharmaceutical giant has filed a patent infringement suit against Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp in the United States alleging infringement of ten patents.

British outsourcing firm Mitie Group slumped as much as 25 percent after a profit warning.

Deutsche Bank dropped about 1 percent in Frankfurt to extend Friday's losses on concerns over its fragile finances.

Regional economic reports painted a mixed picture, with the euro area current account surplus narrowing to 21.0 billion euros in July from 29.5 billion euros in June, while Eurozone construction output growth improved strongly in July.