BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed a bit higher on
Monday, edging up slightly after turning in a somewhat weak performance in the
previous session.

Expectations that the stimulus measures announced by China last week will help
revive the property sector in the world's second largest economy, and optimism
about interest rate cuts in the coming months helped underpin sentiment in
European markets.

European sovereign bond yields edged up after ECB Governing Council member
Martins Kazaks indicated in a Bloomberg Adria interview that June seems the
right moment to start lowering borrowing costs, but future moves will be largely
determined by incoming data.

Kazaks emphasized that any reduction in rates should be 'cautious' and
'gradual,' and that the process should not be rushed.

Separately, ECB executive board member Isabel Schnabel also warned against
back-to-back interest-rate cuts in June and July.

'Based on current data, a rate cut in July does not seem warranted as there is a
risk of easing prematurely,' she told the Nikkei newspaper.

Bank of England's Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent said the interest rate could be
cut some time over the summer.

The outgoing deputy governor said if things continue to evolve as expected, then
the policy will have to become less restrictive at some time.

Elsewhere, U.S. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said on Friday that she has seen no
progress in inflation this year and remains willing to hike rates should
progress stall or reverse.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended higher by 0.8%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up
0.05%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 both ended up by 0.35%, while
Switzerland's SMI climbed 0.76%, extending gains to a third straight session.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Netherlands,
Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher, while Russie ended
weak.

In the UK market, Rolls-Royce Holdings rallied nearly 4.5%. Fresnillo, Weir
Group, Entain and Airtel Africa gained 2.4 to 4%.

Ashtead Group, JD Sports Fashion, Melrose Industries, RightMove, ICG,
Kingfisher, IMI, Lloyds Banking Group, Antofagasta, Centrica, Smiths Group,
Admiral Group and IHG ended higher by 1 to 2%.

Shares of Keywords Studios soared about 61% after the company said that it is in
talks with European private equity company EQT Group over a possible cash offer
worth 2,550 pence a share.

EasyJet, Burberry Group, Ocado Group, Sage Group, Prudential, Beazley, BT Group,
Frasers Group, Imperial Brands, Natwest Group and Reckitt Benckiser lost 1 to
3.2%.

In the German market, Covestro gained more than 2%. MTU Aero Engines, SAP,
Infineon, Deutsche Telekom, Commerzbank, BASF and Henkel also posted notable
gains.

Siemens Energy drifted down more than 2.5%. Porsche, Puma, Mercdes-Benz, BMW and
Volkswagen lost 1 to 2%.

In the French market, Teleperformance climbed about 3%. Societe Generale,
Safran, Airbus Group, Schneider Electric, Thales and Kering gained 1 to 2.3%.

Carrefour, STMicroElectronics, Engie, Renault and Pernod Ricard closed weak.



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