European Markets Close Higher On Monday

(RTTNews) - The major European stock markets were higher on Monday amid hopes for a Federal Reserve pause in policy tightening, catching their breath after recent heavy selling.

The markets continued to benefit from optimism the Fed will signal a slowdown in monetary policy tightening following its meeting next week. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points next week, but traders are hopeful the Fed and other central banks will slow the pace of rates hikes beginning in December.

The British pound gained ground as former chancellor Rishi Sunak closed in on becoming the new prime minister after the withdrawal of Boris Johnson from the Tory leadership race on Sunday night.

Italian political developments were also in focus after Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as the country's first woman prime minister on Saturday.

Germany's DAX jumped 200.55 points or 1.58 percent to finish at 12,931.45, while London's FTSE added 44.26 points or 0.64 percent to close at 7,013.99 and the CAC 40 in France advanced 95.97 points or 1.59 percent to end at 6,131.36.

In Germany, RWE spiked 4.01 percent, while Siemens rallied 2.81 percent, Deutsche Bank jumped 2.48 percent, Infineon advanced 2.09 percent, Heidelberg Cement climbed 1.87 percent, Deutsche Post gained 1.55 percent, Deutsche Telekom rose 1.38 percent and Covestro slipped 0.67 percent.

In London, Prudential plummeted 9.27 percent, while Persimmon surged 4.47 percent, Auto Trader Group soared 3.25 percent, Rightmove jumped 2.77 percent, Centrica strengthened 2.23 percent, Rentokil Initial and Ashtead Group both improved 2.07 percent, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust slumped 1.84 percent, British American Tobacco gained 1.76 percent and Rolls-Royce dipped 0.11 percent.

In France, Engie soared 3.78 percent, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain rallied 3.57 percent, Societe Generale collected 1.70 percent, BNP Paribas improved 1.26 percent, Credit Agricole gained 1.01 percent, Vivendi increased 0.91 percent and Orange was up 0.44 percent.

In economic news, economic activity for the Eurozone dropped further in October into recessionary territory, a survey showed earlier, with the S&P Global Composite PMI falling to 47.1, from 48.1 in September.

The economic activity in the U.K.'s private sector also contracted at an accelerating pace in early October. The S&P Global/CIPS Composite PMI dropped to 47.2 from 49.8 in September.