European Stocks Close On Firm Note

BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS. Sept 10 (Bernama-dpa-AFX) -- European stocks closed on a firm note on Monday, rebounding from recent losses, the German news agency (dpa) reported.

Investors indulged in some strong buying at several counters ahead of the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement and US inflation data, due later in the week.

The US Labour Department will release the consumer price index on Wednesday and the producer price index before Thursday's open. Tame readings could give policymakers ammunition for making a 50-basis points rate cut on Sept 18.

In European economic news, the Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence Index declined from -13.9 in August to -15.4 in September, the latest survey showed on Monday. This was the third consecutive fall and reached the lowest level since January 2024.

Investors also shrugged off the results of another survey that showed Britain's labour market cooled noticeably last month.

The UK labour market conditions softened in August as permanent job placements declined sharply amid reduced demand for new staff and falling pay growth, a report compiled by S&P Global showed.

Permanent staff placements declined for the 23rd straight month in August, according to the KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs survey.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.82 per cent. The UK's FTSE 100 gained 1.09 per cent, Germany's DAX ended up 0.77 per cent, and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.99 per cent, while Switzerland's SMI closed 0.61 per cent higher.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed higher. Greece, Iceland and Turkiye ended weak.

In the French market, Entain rallied 5.3 per cent after the gambling group said its UK and Ireland online business has returned to growth earlier than anticipated. 

Melrose Industries gained 4.15 per cent. Diploma, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Croda International, Smith (DS), Experian, Whitbread and Coca-Cola HBC gained between 2 per cent and 3 per cent.

Lloyds Banking Group shares moved up sharply after the lender launched a £150m joint venture with the government body Homes England.

Standard Chartered, Natwest Group, IMI, Diageo, National Grid, Lloyds Banking Group, British American Tobacco and JD Sports Fashion also ended sharply higher. Burberry Group dropped nearly 5 per cent. Pearson, Reckitt Benckiser, Associated British Foods and Prudential lost  between 1 per cent and  1.4 per cent.

Sartorius surged 6.3 per cent. Siemens Energy gained about 3.2 per cent. Qiagen, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Boerse, Commerzbank, Symrise, Deutsche Post, Allianz, Fresenius and HeidelbergCement climbed  between 1.2 per cent and 2.5 per cent. 

Adidas ended down 3 per cent after Barclays downgraded its rating on the stock to "equal weight" from "overweight".

Siemens Healthineers, Bayer, BMW, Zalando, Vonovia and Henkel ended moderately lower.

Saint-Gobain, Air Liquide, Schneider Electric, TotalEnergies, Legrand, Edenred, Dassault Systèmes, Téléperformance, Accor, Essilor, AXA, Sanofi and Airbus Group gained between 1 per cent and 2.5 per cent.

Kering, Renault, Engie, Unibail Rodamco and Orange closed with sharp to moderate losses. 

-- BERNAMA-dpa-AFX