BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European markets ended the first day of the new trading week in the green. Investors were pleased by some positive corporate earnings, as well as the Nestle deal to sell Starbucks products globally. The positive open on Wall Street provided further support in the afternoon.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.61 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.38 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.51 percent.
The DAX of Germany climbed 1.00 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.28 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. was closed for a bank holiday and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.84 percent.
In Paris, Air France-KLM sank 9.83 percent after a majority of Air France employees at the strike-hit airline rejected a new pay deal and the country's economy minister said the survival of the company is in the balance.
Nestlé rallied 1.57 percent in Zurich after the consumer goods giant announced a deal to sell Starbucks products worldwide.
Swiss Re gained 0.88 percent. Talks between the global reinsurance player and SoftBank over an investment in the reinsurance company are close to collapsing after three months of discussions, the Financial Times reported.
Nokia jumped 2.79 percent in Helsinki after the telecom equipment maker acquired software maker SpaceTime Insight.
Healthcare equipment maker Ambu soared 17.88 percent in Copenhagen after upgrading its annual outlook for organic growth.
Eurozone investor confidence weakened for the fourth straight month in May, survey data from think tank Sentix showed Monday. The investor sentiment index fell unexpectedly to 19.2 in May from 19.6 in April. The score was forecast to rise to 22.4.
Germany's factory orders declined unexpectedly in March on weak foreign demand, figures from Destatis revealed Monday. Factory orders dropped 0.9 percent month-on-month in March, bigger than the revised 0.2 percent decrease in February. Orders were expected to climb 0.5 percent after falling for three straight months.
Germany's construction activity returned to growth in April after severe weather had caused disruption to building work at the end of the first quarter, survey data from IHS Markit showed Monday. The construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.9 in April from 47.0 in March.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX