European Shares Edge Higher With ECB Meeting In The Spotlight

(RTTNews) - European stocks were moving higher on Monday as investors looked ahead to the European Central Bank monetary policy decision on Thursday to ascertain the timing and pace of interest-rate cuts this year.

Market analysts remain skeptical of the ECB's inflation outlook and anticipate multiple cuts throughout the year.

The pan European STOXX 600 rose 0.6 percent to 471.85 after declining 0.3 percent on Friday.

The German DAX added half a percent, France's CAC 40 climbed 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent.

Technology stocks led the bounce, with ASML Holdings rallying 2.5 percent and Infineon Technologies adding 1.5 percent.

Sandoz jumped almost 3 percent after the key player in generic and biosimilar medicines announced a deal to acquire the U.S. biosimilar ranibizumab CIMERLI from Coherus BioSciences, Inc. for an upfront cash purchase payment of $170 million.

SDI Group shares slumped nearly 6 percent in London. The maker of scientific and technology products said that its Chief Executive Officer, Mike Creedon, has stepped down with effect from January 19.

Endeavour soared 6.6 percent. The gold miner said it expects production to increase by as much as 18 percent in 2024, thanks to several project start-ups due to commence in the second quarter.

Bodycote rallied 3.7 percent. The provider of heat treatment and thermal processing services announced its decision to buy back shares of up to 60 million pounds.

Credit Agricole S.A. shares rose about 1 percent. The French banking group said that it has acquired a 7 percent minority interest in Worldline S.A., a payment and transactional services provider. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Gaming company Kindred soared 17 percent after confirming a takeover bid from La Francaise des Jeux. Shares of the latter were up4 percent.