European bourses move higher as Brexit talks begin
European bourses were trading Monday higher in afternoon deals, as investors shifted their attention to political events across Europe.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was 0.77 percent higher, with almost all sectors and major bourses trading in positive territory.
Industrial, oil and gas, and basic material stocks led the gains in Europe on Monday. Among the top performers, Royal Philips jumped over 5 percent after hedge fund Third Pont was reported to have been buying shares of the Amsterdam-listed health care heavyweight.
Ocado surged to the top of the benchmark on Monday, climbing more than 10 percent as the British online grocery company was considered the latest target of Amazon.com, which bid to purchase Whole Foods last week.
Aberdeen Asset Management rose 4.2 percent in afternoon deals Monday after shareholders approved a proposed merger with Standard Life by a majority of 95.81 percent. Standard Life rose 1.69 percent on the news.
Credit Suisse shares rose more than 3 percent on Monday. The Swiss bank found favor among analysts at Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Citi. Deutsche Bank upgraded Credit Suisse to a “buy” rating.
In Paris, the CAC 40 index notched its biggest rise in over six weeks on news French President Emmanuel Macron had strengthened his political position over the weekend. Macron won 350 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly on Sunday, with French shares climbing almost 1 percent.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic U.S. markets opened higher as technology stocks bounced back from series of losses last week. The Dow hit a new record high in early morning deals.
Brexit talks
Investors in Europe will be keeping a close eye on the political sphere in the region on Monday, as U.K. Brexit Secretary David Davis goes to Brussels to begin negotiations. Sterling inched higher against the dollar. The U.K. currency was 0.14 percent higher at $1.2792 just after midday.
The meeting – which is expected to see a structure for the negotiations be laid out along with an opportunity to build trust – marks almost one year since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union.
The discussions also come less than two weeks after Theresa May and her Conservative Party lost their overall majority in parliament, adding more uncertainty to the current state of British politics.
Sticking with the U.K., British stocks – in particular travel and leisure – will be closely watched on Monday. This comes after news that a vehicle drove into a crowd of people near a mosque in the Finsbury Park area of London. According to the Metropolitan police, there were a number of casualties, with one man pronounced dead at the scene.
Major airline and defense stocks will also be in focus on Monday, as leading plane giants head to the International Paris Air Show in France, to hunt out multimillion or even multibillion-dollar deals.
Source: CNBC & Reuters
