FRANKFURT: European shares climbed on Monday, recouping some of last week’s losses as Kering soared after the luxury group announced a CEO change and investors shifted their focus from the conflict in the Middle East that drove a sell-off last week.
The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 0.4% higher, snapping a five-day losing streak. Heavyweight banks were the biggest boost, advancing 1.9%
Gucci parent Kering jumped 11.8%, among the top percentage gainers on the STOXX after the luxury conglomerate said it was hiring Renault boss Luca de Meoas to be its new CEO, confirming reports from earlier in the day.
Shares of the French automaker closed 8.7% lower. A separate report said Tokyo’s Nissan planned to reduce its stake in Renault.
Ladbrokes owner Entain advanced 15.3% after its US sports-betting joint venture with MGM Resorts - BetMGM - raised its annual revenue and core earnings forecast.
“We still have European equities hovering around highs... the equity market been very positive in its assessment of what’s going to happen (tariffs and growth policies) and there a lot of positivity baked into the European stocks at the moment,” said Jacob Pederson, head of equity research at Sydbank.
The European Commission dismissed on Monday reports suggesting it was willing to accept a broad US tariff of 10% on EU goods as speculative and said they did not reflect current discussions.
On the downside, healthcare stocks lagged as Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk fell 3.5%.
Geopolitical tensions though, remained a concern as Iran called on US President Donald Trump to force Israel to cease fire as the only way to end the four-day-old aerial war, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was on the “path to victory” over Iran.
The focus was on a meeting of leaders from the Group of Seven nations that began in the resort area of Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies on Monday.
Also this week, the market will monitor interest rate decisions in countries including in Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, England and in the United States.