European Stocks Close On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Monday with investors shrugging off concerns about growth and inflation for now and reacting positively to news on the merger & acquisition front and data showing an improvement in German business sentiment.

Data from the Ifo Institute showed Germany's business climate index rose to 93.0 points in May from a revised figure of 91.9 points in April.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.26%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 1.67%, Germany's DAX moved up 1.38% and France's CAC 40 surged up 1.17%, while Switzerland's SMI gained 1.39%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden closed with sharp to moderate gains.

Belgium and Turkey ended modestly higher. Czech Republic, Denmark and Russia closed weak, while Greece settled flat.

In the UK market, Royal Mail, M&G, ICP, Aviva, Vodafone Group, ITV, Ocado Group, Anglo American Plc, Barclays, Natwest Group, Glencore, ABRDN and Phoenix Group Holdings gained 3 to 5.3%.

Coca-Cola HBC, 3I Group, Melrose Industries, BP, Land Securities, Legal & General, Standard Chartered, Airtel Africa, Burberry Group, Schrodders, SHELL, HSBC Holdings, Lloyds Banking and Rio Tinto moved up 2 to 3%.

Kingfisher gained more than 2% after reiterating its profit guidance for FY 22/23.

Intertek Group tumbled nearly 4%. Harbour Energy and Segro both gained a little over 1%.

In the French market, ArcelorMittal, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale gained 3.6 to 4%. Unibail Rodamco, Pernod Ricard, Saint Gobain, L'Oreal, Engie, Thales, WorldLine, Air France-KLM, Atos, Air Liquide and Cap Gemini also ended notably higher.

BNP Paribas drifted down more than 4%. Vinci and Publicis Groupe shed about 1% and 0.8%, respectively.

In Germany, Siemens Gamesa shares gained more than 6% after Siemens Energy offered to buy all outstanding shares of the renewables firm for 4.06 billion euros.

Deutsche Bank rallied more than 6%. Brenntag, Covestro, Linde, Deutsche Wohnen, Merck, Allianz, BASF, Vonovia, Volkswagen, HeidelbergCement, Deutsche Post, Daimler, Siemens, Puma, Sartorius and Qiagen gained 1 to 2.3%.