European Shares Inch Higher Ahead Of Fed, ECB Rate Decisions

(RTTNews) - European stocks traded higher on Monday ahead of a big week of central bank meetings. Traders await the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting scheduled from 13th June to 14th, with the U.S. central bank expected to pause its recent interest rate increases.

The Fed's accompanying statement as well as U.S. CPI data will be key as investors look for clues about the outlook for rates.

Closer home, analysts expect the European Central Bank to hike rates by 25 bps on Thursday.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.6 percent at 462.61 after declining 0.2 percent on Friday.

The German DAX climbed 1.1 percent, France's CAC 40 added 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent.

Telecom Italia fell about 1 percent after receiving two new offers from existing bidders for its NetCo unit.

Novartis rose 0.7 percent after it agreed to acquire Seattle-based biotech firm Chinook Therapeutics for up to $3.5 billion.

Swiss banking major UBS Group was up more than 1 percent after saying it has completed the acquisition of domestic rival Credit Suisse Group AG. Shares of the latter gained 1.3 percent.

The troubled banking firm has been merged into UBS, and the combined entity will now operate as a consolidated banking group.

British grocer Ocado jumped 6.4 percent after a brokerage upgraded its price target on the stock.

Oil & gas explorer Tullow Oil fell nearly 2 percent after announcing it is considering all options with respect to its interest in the Espoir field in Côte d'Ivoire.

Frasers Group rose over 1 percent. The retail, sport, and intellectual property company said that it has acquired an 18.9 percent stake in online electricals retailer, AO world Plc, for 75 million pounds.

Satellite company SES SA plunged 13 percent in Paris after an announcement that its CEO Steve Collar will step down at the end of June 2023 to pursue other professional and personal endeavors.

German sportswear maker Adidas jumped 5.3 percent after Bernstein raised its rating on the stock to "outperform".