European Shares Modestly Higher As Investors Look To Fed

(RTTNews) - European stocks eked out modest gains on Monday as investors awaited key regional data and Federal Reserve's policy decision.

German inflation data due out later in the day may influence trading sentiment, heading into the release of the euro zone inflation data on Tuesday.

Earlier today, preliminary data showed inflation rose in four important German states in April.

The euro area economic sentiment index is awaited later in the day while the Fed's policy Committee is overwhelmingly expected to keep the federal-funds rate unchanged on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, data from property platform Zoopla suggested that U.K. house sales rose for the seventh consecutive month in April, driven by demand for smaller homes.

House prices experienced a growth of 1.9 percent in February, indicating a £5,318 increase over the past year.

The pan European STOXX 600 was up 0.4 percent at 509.89 after rallying 1.1 percent on Friday to log its first weekly gain in four.

The German DAX edged up 0.1 percent, France's CAC 40 added 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.6 percent.

In corporate news, Spain's BBVA declined 1.4 percent despite beating estimates in the first quarter and raising its profit guidance for 2024.

Mining giant Anglo American rose 1.3 percent in London.

The company's board has unanimously rejected a US$39Bn takeover bid from Australia-based BHP, saying the offer "significantly undervalues" the company and its future prospects and was "highly unattractive" for Anglo American's shareholders.

Oxford Biomedica shares jumped 6.4 percent. The cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization reported stability in its core business and reiterated its near-term and medium-term financial guidance.

Drug major AstraZeneca added 1.3 percent after announcing progress with two breast cancer treatments.

Vivendi shares fell about 1 percent in Paris. The mass-media holding company reported a surge in revenue for the first quarter, supported by the consolidation of Lagardere as well as revenue growth at Canal+ Group and Havas.

Atos SE surged almost 16 percent. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Sunday said he had moved to acquire the "sovereign activities" of the debt-laden tech giant Atos and prevent foreign ownership of them.

Deutsche Bank shares slumped 6.1 percent. The German lender has provided updates on the ongoing litigation concerning its acquisition of Postbank, revealing that a legal provision will affect its second-quarter and full-year profitability as well as capital ratios.

The total estimated amount of all claims, inclusive of accumulated interest, stands at about 1.3 billion euros.