European markets close higher on gains in banking, auto

Switzerland’s SMI settled 0.01% higher, Germany’s DAX closed up 1.1%, while U.K.’s FTSE 100 added 0.16%

European markets closed mostly higher on Monday, led by gains in the banking and automobile sectors.

Investors assessed China-U.S. trade discussions, recent earnings updates, and digested the latest batch of regional economic data, in addition to awaiting the Bank of England’s monetary policy announcement due this week.

The pan European Stoxx 600 jumped 0.46%. Switzerland’s SMI settled 0.01% higher, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.14%, Germany’s DAX closed up 1.1%, while U.K.’s FTSE 100 added 0.16%. Russia, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland and Portugal closed higher. Iceland and Sweden closed weak, while Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands and Spain closed little changed.

In the UK market, Airtel Africa soared nearly 6%, adding to recent gains. Games Workshop jumped 3.1%, British American Tobacco added 2.7% and IAG moved up 2.3%.

M&G, The Sage Group, Prudential, Schroders, Legal & General, Diageo, Standard Chartered, Intercontinental Hotels, Easyjet, Imperial Brands, Haleon and Halma rose 1 to 2%.

Oil major BP gained around 1.2% after it agreed to divest stakes in U.S. shale assets to Sixth Street for $1.5 billion.

Vodafone Group, WPP, JD Sports Fashion, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Anglo American Plc, Marks & Spencer, Rio Tinto, Croda International, Convatec Group, Glencore and Beazley closed down by 2 to 5.2%.

In the German market, Rheinmetall, Siemens Energy, Volkswagen, Commerzbank, Mercedes-Benz, SAP, Continental, Deutsche Bank, Porsche Automobil and Allianz added 1.3 to 4%.

Zalando, Qiagen, Vonovia, Bayer, E.ON, Fresenius, Fresenius Medical Care, Daimler Truck Holding and Merck dropped sharply.

In the French market, Renault increased nearly 2%. The automaker said it would sell a 26.4% stake in its Brazilian business, Renault do Brasil, to Chinese automaker Geely Automobile.

Edenred, Engie, Michelin, LVMH, Accor, Stellantis and Safran closed with sharp to moderate gains.

Capgemini closed more than 3% down. Eurofins Scientific, BNP Paribas, Hermes International, Teleperformance, Dassault Sytemes, Unibail Rodamco and Carrefor also dropped sharply.

Eurozone manufacturing sector stagnated in October, as initially estimated, following a fractional deterioration in September, the purchasing managers’ survey compiled by S&P Global showed on Monday.

The final Purchasing Managers’ Index posted 50.0 in October, signalling no change in the operating conditions in the manufacturing sector. The score matched the initial estimate and remained above September’s score of 49.8.