European Stocks Close Mostly Higher Again

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Monday with many markets in the region extending gains to an eighth straight session. While strong buying in the mining sector amid expectations of more stimulus from the Chinese government contributed to the positive mood in the markets, geopolitical tensions limited the upside.

Investors awaited the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting, and conumer and producer price inflation data from the U.S., due later in the week.

A measure of China's consumer inflation unexpectedly decelerated in November and factory deflation eased, raising hopes for more proactive fiscal and monetary policies next year to boost domestic consumption.

The Politburo, a top decision-making body led by President Xi Jinping, said today it will stabilize property and stock markets while strengthening the "unconventional counter-cyclical" adjustment.

Investors also monitored the flare-up of tensions in Syria and awaited a European Central Bank policy meeting and the U.S. inflation figures this week for direction.

The ECB is expected to cut interest rates again this week amid worries about how fiscal policy will develop in Germany and France.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.14%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.52% and France's CAC 40 closed up 0.72%. Germany's DAX ended down 0.19%, while Switzerland's SMI closed down 0.16%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Belgium, Denmark and Spain ended weak.

In the UK market, Vistry Group rallied more than 6%. Antofagasta, Fresnillo, Glencore, BP, Rio Tinto, GSK, Prudential, WPP, Endeavour Mining, Anglo American Plc, Hiscox, Shell, Spirax Group, Berkeley Group Holdings and Kingfisher gained 2 to 5%.

Whitbread, BAE Systems, IHG, Auto Trader Group, Next, Ashtead Group, Relx, Vodafone Group, Compass Group, Coca-Cola HBC, Smith (DS), Segro, BT Group and Land Securities closed down 1 to 2.7%.

In the German market, Mercedes-Benz, BASF, Porsche, BMW and Infineon gained 2 to 3.4%. Siemens Healthineers, Volkswagen, Brenntag, Continental, Beiersdorf, Merck, Bayer, Zalando and Qiagen advanced 1 to 3%. Sartorius gained more than 1% after naming a new CEO.

Rheinmetall fell more than 6%. Vonovia closed down 3.4%, while Deutsche Telekom ended nearly 2% down. MTU Aero Engines, Munich RE, Adidas and Deutsche Boerse also closed notably lower.

German meal-kit company HelloFresh slumped nearly 10% after reports of a U.S. probe over allegations of child labor. CompuGroup Medical soared 32% as the provider of healthcare software said it is in advanced talks to be acquired by CVC Capital Partners.

In the French market, Kering, LVMH and Societe Generale climbed 3 to 3.6%. BNP Paribas and Pernod Ricard gained about 2.7% and 2.5%, respectively.

ArcelorMittal, Stellantis, L'Oreal, Capgemini, Carrefour, Eurofins Scientific, Teleperformance, TotalEnergies, Vivendi, Edenred, Michelin, Credit Agricole, STMicroElectronics, Airbus Group and Dassault Systemes closed higher by 1 to 2%.

Thales, Unibail Rodamco, Schneider Electric, Danone, Safrone and Essilor ended with sharp to moderate losses.

On the economic front, Eurozone investor confidence deteriorated in December as the weakness of the German economy together with the political crisis in France dragged down the EU economy, results of the Sentix survey showe. The Sentix investor confidence index for Eurozone fell to -17.5 from -12.8 in November, the behavioral research think tank said. This was the lowest value since November 2023.

The UK labor market conditions deteriorated further in November as firms paused recruitment activity following the late October budget announcement, a report compiled by S&P Global showed.

Permanent job placements posted its biggest fall since August 2023 amid reports of reduced vacancies, the KPMG/REC Report on Jobs said.

Many respondents said that the Autumn Budget had led to uncertainty and the reassessment of staffing needs. Temporary staff billings declined for a fifth straight time due to similar reasons.