VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - European shares rose on Monday, with trading remaining light as the U.K. markets are closed for a public holiday. The U.S. markets also remain closed today for the New year's holiday.
With manufacturing data out of Germany and China boosting sentiment, the German DAX is currently rising 1.5 percent, while France's CAC 40 is gaining 0.77 percent.
The downturn in the Eurozone manufacturing sector extended into a fifth successive month in December as initially estimated, final data from Markit Economics showed today.
The Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 46.9 in December, unchanged from the flash estimate, but rising marginally from November's 28-month low of 46.4 to signal a slight easing in the overall rate of contraction.
Separately, data from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed China's Purchasing Managers Index, a gauge of the country's manufacturing activity, rose more than estimated to 50.3 percent in December from 49 in November, alleviating fears of a slowdown in the world's second largest economy.
Utility stocks are pacing the gainers in Frankfurt, with E.ON rising 2 percent and RWE adding 2.5 percent. Veolia Environnement added 1.3 percent after the Sunday Times reported that Allianz SE and Canada's Borealis pension fund were interested in bidding for its U.K. water business.
The yield on France's 10-year bonds jumped five basis points to 3.20 percent as the nation prepares to auction as much as 8.9 billion euros of bills tomorrow.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2012 AFX News
