European Stocks Close On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - 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%.