European Markets Close On Strong Note As U.S.-China Trade Deal Lifts Sentiment

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed on a firm note on Monday, with the German market hitting a new record high, and the French market climbing to a six-week high, as the mood remained quite bullish across the region as the U.S. and China agreed on a trade deal over the weekend.

Following negotiations in Switzerland over the weekend, the world's largest and the second-largest economies have agreed to suspend most tariffs on each other's goods for 90 days, and slash rates going forward.

As per the announcement by the two countries, the U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will fall to 30% from 145% while Chinese duties on U.S. imports will fall to 10% from 125%.

Investors also looked ahead to some crucial UK economic data this week, including reports on first-quarter GDP, industrial output, unemployment, and trade balance.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.21%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.59%, Germany's DAX ended higher by 0.29%, and France's CAC 40 closed higher by 1.37%. Switzerland's SMI ended 1.09% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye all closed higher.

Poland missed out on the rally and ended weak.

In the UK market, Standard Chartered rallied nearly 9%. Glencore, Antofagasta, Anglo American, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, IAG, Ashtead Group, Intermediate Capital Group, Prudential, Pershing Square Holdings, Scottish Mortgage, HSBC Holdings, Rio Tinto, Entain, Intertek and Informa closed higher by 2.5 to 7%.

Fresnillo, Endeavour Mining, Marks & Spencer, National Grid, Relx, United Utilities, Imperial Brands, B&M European Value Retail and Next lost 2.5 to 6%.

In the German market, Infineon jumped more than 8%, and Puma climbed about 6.1%. Daimler Truck Holding, Deutsche Post, Adidas, Siemens, Siemens Healthineers, Mercedes-Benz, Brenntag, BMW, Continental, Henkel, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and Qiagen gained 2 to 5%.

Rheinmetall, E.On, Vonovia, Munich RE, Deutsche Boerse, Allianz, Symrise and Deutsche Telekom lost 2 to 5%.

In the French market, LVMH surged about 7%. STMicroElectronics, Stellantis, Kering, ArcelorMittal, Legrand, Capgemini, Publicis Groupe, Teleperformance, Schneider Electric, Hermes International, Accor, Essilor, Unibail Rodamco, L'Oreal and Michelin closed stronger by 2.5 to 6.7%.

Veolia Environment closed down more than 5%. Danone, Thales, Orange, AXA, Sanofi, Vinci, Engie and Air Liquide dropped 1.4 to 3.2%.

On the economic front, U.K. recruitment activity remained weak at the start of the second quarter as demand for staff deteriorated amid the rise in the salary inflation due to the increases in the national minimum and living wage rates, a report compiled by S&P Global showed.

Permanent staff appointments declined further amid reports of weak employer confidence and tighter hiring budgets, the KPMG/REC Report on Jobs survey revealed. However, the pace of reduction was the softest since September. Likewise, temp billings decreased at the slowest pace in four months.