European stocks closed higher on Monday after last-minute gains, with buying focused largely on defensive sectors amid plummeting oil prices and continued anxiety over the coronavirus.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed up 1.1%, having dropped about 1% earlier in the day. A stronger open on Wall Street, spurred by optimism over battling the outbreak's economic impact, also lent support late in the European session.
Still, the benchmark was a long way from a peak hit in late-February, and likely to record its second-worst quarter ever, owing to the panic selling brought about by the coronavirus.
The healthcare sector was the biggest boost to the STOXX 600, closing about 3% higher as fears of the coronavirus kept investors trading cautiously. Utilities and telecom stocks also rose on the day.
Belgian-Dutch biotech company Galapagos jumped about 6% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to 'buy', citing potential in the firm's lead product. Energy stocks shrugged off a slump in oil prices, adding about 3%.
Chemical producers were the best performing sector for the day, rising about 3.9%, with several firms looking to benefit from lower crude prices. On the other hand, bank stocks slumped 3.1% as lenders complied with the European Central Bank's call to freeze dividends in a bid to shore up credit, with the pandemic causing a liquidity squeeze across the bloc.
Spain's bank-heavy Ibex index dropped 1.7%. Travel and leisure stocks, among the worst hit from the virtual halt in global travel, fell 0.6% on Monday as JP Morgan forecast a 42% slump in aftermarket sales in the European civil aerospace sector in 2020. British shopping centre owner Hammerson plummeted 22%, bottoming out the STOXX 600 after it suspended its guidance and its 2019 dividend.