BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed on a firm note
on Monday as bond yields dropped and investors digested some corporate news,
while looking ahead to fresh economic data, the U.S. Presidential debate, and
France's snap parliamentary polls.

Expectations of interest rate cuts by central banks helped underpin sentiment.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.73%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.53%,
Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended higher by 0.89% and 1.03%, respectively.
Switzerland's SMI rallied 1.2%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended with sharp to moderate gains.

Iceland and Netherlands edged up marginally. Russia closed notably lower, while
Turkiye ended slightly down.

In the UK market, Prudential climbed 7.3% after the insurer launched a $2
billion share buyback program.

Frasers Group climbed about 4% after it announced that it is on track to meet
its guidance and struck a partnership with the THG tech platform.

Burberry Group, Antofagasta, JD Sports Fashion, BT Group, WPP and Associated
British Foods gained 2 to 4%.

IMI, British American Tobacco, Ashtead Group, Phoenix Group Holdings, Convatec
Group, St. James's Place, Halma, Next and Segro also ended with strong gains.

Berkeley Group Holdings ended down by about 2.1%. National Grid, Smurfit Kappa
Group, Auto Trader Group, Smith & Nephew, Sainsbury (J), B&M European Value
Retail, 3i Group and Marks & Spencer also ended notably lower.

In the German market, automakers rallied after China and the European Union have
agreed to start talks on the bloc's plans to impose tariffs on electric vehicles
imported from the Asian nation.

Covestro rallied 5%. Siemens Energy gained about 4%. Fresenius Medical Care,
BMW, Deutsche Bank, Sartorius, Bayer, BASF and Brenntag gained 2 to 3%.

Daimler Truck Holding, Siemens, Porsche, HeidelbergCement, Henkel and Symrise
also moved up sharply.

Zalando dropped nearly 4% after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the stock to
'equal weight' from 'overweight'. SAP ended lower by about 1%.

In the French market, BNP Paribas and Sanofi both gained more than 3%. Edenred,
Publicis Groupe, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, Pernod Ricard, Accor,
Stellantis, Safran, Veolia, Unibail Rodamco and LVMH gained 1.3 to 2.5%.

Eurofins Scientific tanked more than 16% after research firm Muddy Waters
recommended a 'short' position on the stock.

Belgian pharmaceutical company argenx soared 9% after receiving approval from
the U.S. health regulator for Vyvgart Hytrulo, a treatment for chronic
inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

In economic news, Germany's business sentiment softened in June due to more
pessimistic expectations, highlighting the hardship that the economy faces amid
headwinds, survey results from the ifo Institute showed. The business confidence
index fell to a three-month low of 88.6 in June from 89.3 in May. The score was
forecast to rise slightly to 89.7.

UK manufacturers reported an improvement in total orders in June despite a
notable decline in export order volume, the Industrial Trends Survey results
from the Confederation of British Industry showed. The order book balance rose
to -18% in June from -33% in May. The score was also better than economists'
forecast of -25%.



Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX