AMSTERDAM/LONDON: European stocks ended higher on Monday as strong metals prices boosted miners, while a rise in bond yields supported shares of major banks amid optimism the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic had passed.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended 0.3% higher after its first weekly loss in eight last week. Basic resources stocks were among the best performers for the day, rising 1.9% to a 10-year closing high.
The sector was supported by Shanghai copper prices hitting 10-year highs, with prices of other metals also rising as vaccination programmes across major industrial hubs pointed to a recovery in demand.
Bank stocks were the top performers, rising 2% as major lenders were supported by rising euro zone bond yields.
Travel and leisure stocks rose 1.8% to a record closing high after a top European Union official said Americans who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 should be able to travel to Europe by summer.
However, German stocks lagged their peers, rising only 0.1%, after the Ifo Institute’s survey showed German business morale improved by less than expected in April amid a third wave of COVID-19 infections.
Of the 15% of STOXX 600 companies that have reported so far, 66% topped earnings estimates, according to Refinitiv IBES data. In a typical quarter, 51% beat earnings estimates.
British engineering firm IMI Plc topped the STOXX 600, rising more than 11% after it hiked its 2021 profit guidance.
Austrian sensor maker AMS fell 0.7% after Credit Suisse double downgraded its stock to “underperform”, citing concerns around the company potentially losing product supply deals at Apple.
Volkswagen AG slipped 2.1% after the Financial Times reported the company had warned managers to prepare for a bigger production hit in the second quarter due to a global chip shortage.
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