Energy Stocks Lift European Markets To Positive Close

(RTTNews) - Despite persisting worries about inflation and concerns about slowing global growth, European stocks closed broadly higher on Monday, led by gains in energy section.

Activity was a bit subdued as US market remained closed for the July Fourth holiday.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.54%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 surged 0.89% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.4%, while Germany's DAX slid 0.31%. Switzerland's SMI ended 1.04% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden ended higher.

Belgium, Czech Republic, Spain and Turkey closed weak, while Greece and Russia ended flat.

In the UK market, Harbour Energy gained 5.2% and BP rallied nearly 4.5%. Endeavour Mining, Shell, Auto Trader Group, Fresnillo and BT Group gained 2.7 to 4%.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals, LSE, Glencore, Rentokil Initial, Next, Airtel Africa, Aveva Group, Mondi, DCC, Barclays and Bunzl ended higher by 1.5 to 2%.

Ocado Group, Entain, JD Sports Fashion, Whitbread and WPP shed 2 to 3.6%.

Grafton Group plunged nearly 8%. The building materials supplier announced that Gavin Slark would step down as Chief Executive Officer later this year after eleven years in the role.

In the French market, Sodexo surged nearly 3.5%. Teleperformance, Carrefour, Air Liquide, Valeo, Legrand, WorldLine and LVMH gained 1 to 2%.

Atos plunged more than 10%. Publicis Groupe lost about 6.5%, while Unibail Rodamco, Faurecia, Essilor and Capgemini lost 2.5 to 4%.

In Germany, Qiagen, Symrise, Deutsche Boerse, Munich RE, BASF, Siemens and Sartorius gained 1.5 to 2%. Henkel, HeidelbergCement, Siemens Healthineers and Deutsche Bank also ended notably higher.

Vonovia ended more than 5% down. Deutsche Wohnen closed lower by nearly 4% and Zalando declined 3.8%. Daimler, Infineon Technologies, HelloFresh, MTU Aero Engines, Porsche Automobil, Puma, SAP and RWE also ended notably lower.

In the Swiss market, shares of Chipmaker AMS Osram AG plummeted nearly 8% after JP Morgan downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "overweight."

In economic news, Germany's trade balance registered a deficit in May on an unexpected fall in exports, data from Destatis showed.

Exports dropped 0.5% on a monthly basis in May, reversing April's 4.4%. Shipments were forecast to grow 0.9%.

Data released by Eurostat showed Eurozone producer prices climbed 36.3% year-on-year in May, following a 37.2% rise in April. Economists had forecast inflation to ease to 36.7%. A 94.4% surge in energy prices was largely responsible for overall inflation in May.

Eurozone investor confidence weakened notably to a 26-month low in July, raising fears of a recession, results of a closely-watched survey showed. The investor confidence index slid more-than-expected to -26.4 in July from -15.8 in June, the survey by the behavioral research institute Sentix revealed.

After improving sharply in June, the score was expected to fall moderately to -19.9. The latest reading was the lowest since May 2020.

Data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Switzerland's consumer price inflation rose to the highest level since 1993, as prices rose by more-than-expected 3.4% year-on-year in June, following a 2.9% increase May. Economists had expected the rate to climb to 3.2%.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.5% in June, after a 0.7% increase in the previous month. Economists had forecast a rise of 0.3%.