Europe Stocks Inch Higher; Admiral Jumps

European stock markets moved cautiously higher on Monday, taking a cue from a strong U.S. close last week on the back of encouraging news about the debt ceiling and strong corporate earnings.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index  added 0.1% to 287.18, climbing back after a soft decline on Friday.

Shares of Admiral Group PLC  jumped 5.3%, after Goldman Sachs lifted the firm to buy from neutral and added the car insurer to its conviction-buy list.

On a more downbeat note, shares of Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA  sank 5.9%, after the high-end watchmaker issued a cautious outlook and posted lower-than-expected sales for the fiscal third quarter.

The broader European stock markets mirrored gains on Wall Street on Friday, when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said that the House of Representatives will vote to authorize a three-month increase in the debt ceiling to give Congress time to pass a budget.

U.S. markets were Monday closed for Martin Luther King Day.

Most Asian markets ended lower, led by Japan, as a two-day meeting at the Bank of Japan got under way.

Back in Europe, drug makers posted some of the biggest gains, with shares of GlaxoSmithKline PLC   up 1.5% and AstraZeneca PLC   adding 0.3% in London.

The FTSE 100 index  rose 0.3% to 6,169.90. Shares of Unilever PLC  were also on the rise in London, up 0.7%, as Investec Securities raised the foods producer to buy from hold ahead of fourth-quarter earnings later in the week.

In France, the CAC 40 index  was slightly lower at 3,741.24, while Germany’s DAX 30 index  traded 0.3% higher at 7,726.20.

Marketwatch