Travel stocks led the way higher for European stocks on Monday after a key official said transatlantic travel may soon resume.
Coming off a 0.8% drop last week — the biggest decline since the period ending Feb. 26 — the Stoxx Europe 600
SXXP,
+0.10%
edged up 0.2%.
Gainers included aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce
RR,
+4.60%,
which rose 4%, and airlines Deutsche Lufthansa
LHA,
+3.65%
and International Airlines Group
IAG,
+4.35%.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said fully vaccinated Americans should be able to travel to Europe over the summer.
U.S. stock futures
ES00,
-0.08%
NQ00,
-0.31%
were a touch lower, ahead of a big week for tech earnings and a Fed decision. President Joe Biden’s proposed infrastructure spending package faces resistance in the Senate as Sen. Joe Manchin, a key Democrat, said he only supports passing a bill with Republican support.
The stock market was unbothered by a weaker-than-forecast 0.2-point rise in the Ifo business climate index for Germany.
Also on the move, U.K. engineering group IMI
IMI,
+7.73%
rallied 7% after lifting its earnings guidance and launching a stock buyback program.
Philips
PHIA,
-2.86%
fell 3% as the company booked a €250 million charge for a quality issue used in some of its sleep products alongside an increased sales growth target.
Food-and-drink ingredients supplier Tate & Lyle
TATE,
+6.42%
jumped 6% as it said it is in the process of selling a controlling stake in its primary products businesses. That followed a report in the Sunday Telegraph which said it’s begun a £1.2 billion auction for the division, which makes artificial sweeteners.