European Stocks Close On Positive Note After Cautious Session

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed slightly higher on Monday despite concerns over a potential U.S. government shutdown. A lack of positive triggers rendered the mood cautious and limited markets' upside.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.18%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 gained 0.16% and 0.13%, respectively. Germany's DAX edged up 0.02%, and Switzerland's SMI climbed 0.64%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden closed on firm note. Austria and Greece edged up marginally.

Ireland, Norway, Russia and Turkiye ended weak, while Poland and Spain closed flat.

In the UK market, Antofagsta surged 5.3%. JD Sports Fashion closed 4.5% up. Admiral Grup and Berkeley Group Holdings gained 3.6% and 3.5%, respectively.

Metlen Energy & Metals, Convatec Group, Persimmon, Babcock International, Anglo American Plc, GSK, Burberry Group, Croda International, WPP, Rio Tinto and Glencore moved up 2 to 2.5%.

Pharma stock GSK gained about 2.6%. The company has announced CEO Emma Walmsley will step down in January. Luke Miels is set to succeed him.

AstraZeneca advanced 0.6%. The company has unveiled plans to upgrade its US listing by directly listing ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

Coca-Cola HBC closed nearly 4% down. BP ended lower by about 2.5%. Rolls-Royce Holdings, Shell, BT Group and Weir Group also closed notably lower.

In the German market, Bayer, Rheinmetall, Vonovia, Volkswagen, Infineon and Mercedes-Benz gained 1 to 1.8%.

Heidelberg Materials and Commerzbank lost more than 3%. Puma, Deutsche Bank, Gea Group, Siemens, Brenntag and Continental also closed notably lower.

In the French market, Kering climbed nearly 5%. Hermes International gained about 2.5%. Capgemini, Thales, LVMH, Unibail Rodamco, Stellantis and EssilorLuxottica also posted strong gains.

TotalEnergies tumbled more than 2%. Societe Generale lost about 1.25%. Michelin, Veolia Environment, Legrand and Orange also closed weak.

In economic news, UK mortgage approvals declined in August and consumer credit remained flat, data from the Bank of England showed.

The number of mortgage approvals fell by 500 to 64,700 in August, below This was below the expected level of 65,000.

Secured lending dropped by GBP 0.2 billion to GBP 4.3 billion in August after falling by GBP 0.9 billion in July.

Net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals remained flat at GBP 1.7 billion in August.

Data showed that borrowing by large businesses increased at a faster pace of 8.6%, following an 8.1% rise in July.

Similarly, the annual growth rate of borrowing by small and medium-sized enterprises increased to 1.2%, which was the highest since August 2021.

a report from the European Commission showed the economic sentiment indicator in the Euro Area edged up to 95.5 in September from an upwardly revised 95.3 in August and slightly higher than market expectations of 95.2.

Euro Area consumer confidence was at -14.9 in September, up from -15.5 in August and in line with the preliminary estimate.