Europe Stocks Higher On Central-Bank Hopes

By Amwal Al Ghad English On Jul 30, 2012

European stock markets opened largely higher Monday, with financials in the lead, as investors retained hope that stimulus measures would emerge from major central-bank meetings this week. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.6% to 261.36, led by a nearly 8% rise for Air France-KLM , which reported first-half results.

Also supporting the index, Shares of Royal Dutch Shell PLC rose more than 1% as Total SA gained 0.8%. BNP Paribas SA rose 2.4%. The FTSE 100 index rose 0.2% to 5,638.02. Shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC fell 1.8% after the company reported results and warned of a tough outlook for mature markets, while the French CAC 40 index rose 0.8% to 3,306.43 and the German DAX 30 index rose 0.8% to 6,744.07.

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