European markets ended on a strong note on Monday, buoyed by upbeat U.S. and Euro area economic data and drop in Treasury yields.
Markets also benefited from the greater momentum in rollout of vaccines, drop in coronavirus cases, and news about the U.S. House passing a $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill proposed by President Joe Biden on Saturday.
According to reports, more than 20 million people in the UK have received their first vaccine shot. In the U.S., Johnson & Johnson's vaccine has received USFDA nod for emergency use of its vaccine.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.84%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 1.62%, Germany's DAX moved up 1.64%, France's CAC 40 gained 1.57% and Switzerland's SMI ended stronger by 1.75%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine ended with strong gains. Iceland ended modestly higher.
In the UK market, IAG rallied nearly 7% on expectations of a rebound in travel demand during summer. Taylor Wimpey, Pennon Group, Persimmon, Berkeley Group, Barratt Developments, M&G, Anglo American, Scottish Mortgage, Rightmove, Flutter Entertainment, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Prudential and Smiths Group gained 3 to 6%.
HSBC Holdings, Informa, Ocado Group, Tesco and Fresnillo ended weak.
In the German market, MTU Aero Engines gained about 6%, Bayer moved up 4.5% and Deutsche Post rallied nearly 3.5%, while Lufthansa, Covestro, Linde, Thyssenkrupp, HeidelbergCement, Siemens, Deutsche Bank, BASF, Volkswagen, Adidas and Beiersdorf gained 1.5 to 3%.
In France, Airbus Group, Unibail Rodamco, Kering, Sodexo, Safran, ArcelorMittal, Thales, Vinci, CapGemini, LVMH, AXA, Credit Agricole, Danonon, Renault and Bouygues ended stronger by 1 to 5%.
In economic news, Euro area manufacturing sector expanded at a faster than estimated pace in February, which was the strongest in three years as output and new orders grew sharply and export demand picked up.
The final purchasing manager's index, or PMI, for the manufacturing sector rose to 57.9 from 54.8 in January. The flash reading was 57.7.
UK manufacturing expansion strengthened marginally in February as stretched supply chains and rising costs weighed on growth. The seasonally adjusted CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, rose to 55.1 in February from 54.1 in January, survey data from IHS Markit showed Monday. That was above the flash estimate of 54.9.
Germany's consumer price inflation rose more than expected in February, preliminary figures from Destatis showed. The consumer price index climbed 1.3% year-on-year following a 1% increase in January. Economists had forecast 1.2% inflation. Prices rose for a second straight month.
Compared to the previous month, the CPI rose 0.7% in February after a 0.8% increase in January. Economists had expected 0.5% gain.
Preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Switzerland's retail sales declined in January. Retail sales adjusted for sales days and holidays fell by 0.5% year-on-year in January.
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