European Stocks Close Higher As Investors On Corporate News, Await Crucial Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed broadly higher on Monday, due largely to a good show by mining and defense stocks amid escalating geopolitical tensions. Investors also awaited some crucial U.S. economic data for clues about the Federal Reserve's policy moves.

Data showing a significant strength in Eurozone investor confidence in February aided sentiment.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.7%. Germany's DAX gained 1.19% and France's CAC 40 closed up by 0.6%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.16% up, while Switzerland's SMI edged up 0.11%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye ended with sharp to moderate gains.

Greece, Iceland and Russia closed weak.

In the UK market, Antofagasta and Endeavour Mining climbed 6.6% and 6%, respectively. Fresnillo moved up 5% and Glencore gained 4.8%. Anglo American Plc and Rio Tinto ended stronger by 3.2% and 3.1%,respectively.

Rolls-Royce Holdings, BAE Systems, Babock International, Vodafone Group, IAG, Airtel Africa, Spirax Group, Weir Group and Polar Capital Technology Trust gained 2%-3.75%.

Natwest Group tumbled 6% after the bank agreed to buy private equity-backed wealth management group Evelyn Partners.

British American Tobacco ended down by 3.3%. Barratt Redrow, BT Group, Autotrader Group, Marks & Spencer, United Utilities, Compass Group, GSK, Unilever and Rightmove lost 1.6%-2.7%.

In the German market, Siemens Energy, Commerzbank, Rheinmetall, Heidelberg Materials, Siemens and SAP gained 2%-4%.

Deutsche Post, Deutsche Bank, Merck, E.ON, Bayer, MTU Aero Engines, RWE, Continental, Gea Group, Scout24 and BASF also posted strong gains.

Fresenius Medical Care, Siemens Healthineers, Hannover Rueck and Deutsche Boerse lost 1.2%-2.2%.

In the French market, STMicroElectronics soared more than 9%.

Thales gained about 4.1% and Societe Generale moved up 3.5%. Safran, Credit Agricole, Engie, Schneider Electric, Publicis Groupe, ArcelorMittal and Dassault Systemes gained 1%-2.5%.

L'Oreal and Capgemini ended down by 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively. Michelin, Vinci and Eurofins Scientific also closed weak.

In economic news, Eurozone investor confidence index rose to 4.2 in February from -1.8 in January. This was the highest since July 2025 and also exceeded the forecast of -0.2. Moreover, this was the third consecutive rise in the index.

The think tank said the economic indices signaled a glimmer of hope for the Eurozone economy. The recession in the currency bloc is likely to be over and economic recovery scenario has emerged, Sentix added.

The current situation index advanced to -6.8 in February, the highest since April 2023, from -13.0 in January. At the same time, the expectations index surged to a seven-month high of 15.8 from 10.0 a month ago.

UK recruiters reported a softer drop in permanent job placements in January and vacancies continued to fall at a slower pace, monthly data from S&P Global showed.

There was another decline in permanent job placements in January amid reports of weak market conditions and employer concerns costs, the KPMG/REC Report on Jobs said. However, the pace of decrease eased to the weakest in 18 months.

At the same time, temp billings increased for only the second time since May 2024, though growth was marginal.

The availability of candidates continued to rise largely due to redundancies and fewer job opportunities. Nonetheless, the rate of expansion was the softest in 12 months.

Data showed improvement in pay trends for both permanent and temporary staff. Starting salaries grew at the fastest pace in nearly a year-and-a-half and temp wage growth hit the joint-highest since May 2024.