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European stocks start 2017 higher; Dax up 0.9%

Published 01/02/2017, 05:01 AM
Updated 01/02/2017, 05:01 AM
© Reuters.  With FTSE and Euro Stoxx 50 closed for holidays, other European indices move higher

© Reuters. With FTSE and Euro Stoxx 50 closed for holidays, other European indices move higher

Investing.com – Though most markets were closed on Monday for the post-New Year’s holiday, some European indices were open for trade and moved higher.

During European mid-morning trade, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.25%, while Germany’s DAX 30 traded up 0.85%.

Not unlike Wall Street that will remain closed on Monday, the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 and London’s FTSE 100 will not reopen their doors for trading until Tuesday.

In 2016, the FTSE 100 led the pack, pocketing annual gains of around 14%, despite the turmoil surrounding the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union, known as Brexit. In fact, the index surged 19% from its post-Brexit low as investors weighed the slump in the pound as a positive for business.

Italy’s FTSE MIB was Europe’s laggard with losses of about 10% for the year, which occurred despite a late year rally than allowed the peripheral index to recover 18%.

In a light calendar day, markets digested the health of the euro zone’s manufacturing sector. IHS Markit's final 2016 manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the euro zone registered 54.9 in December, in line with an earlier flash estimate and its highest since April 2011.

"Euro zone manufacturers are entering 2017 on a strong footing, having ended 2016 with a surge in production," ISH Markit chief business economist Chris Williamson said.

"To put the PMI data into perspective, the five-and-a-half-year high reached in December is broadly consistent with factory output growing at an impressive annual rate of approximately 4%," he added.

No other major economic releases were scheduled for release on Monday.

In European equities, energy stocks were trading mixed, as French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) slipped 0.11% but Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) gained 0.84%, while Norwegian rival Statoil (OL:STL) dropped 0.32%.

Financial stocks were mostly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) lost 0.13% and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) gained 0.42%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) traded up 3.16% and 2.06%, respectively.

Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) gained 1.15% and 2.12% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) advanced 0.42% and 0.20%, respectively.

Elsewhere, oil markets and U.S. equities remained closed on Monday.

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