BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European markets closed mostly higher on Monday amid news more countries in the continent are relaxing lockdown restrictions, and on hopes the central banks will announce additional stimulus to revive the economies.
The European Central Bank is scheduled to announce its monetary policy on Thursday. The U.S. Federal Reserve's policy statement is due on Wednesday.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed up 1.77%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 1.64% and Switzerland's SMI ended up 1.38%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 surged up 3.13% and 2.55%, respectively.
Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Turkey gained 2 to 3.5%.
Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland ended higher by 0.7 to 2%.
Russia closed modestly higher, while Poland ended weak.
In Germany, Deutsche Bank shares soared nearly 13% after the lender said it expects to report first-quarter group profit before tax of 206 million euros and net income of 66 million euros, above market expectations.
The bank noted it will continue to work towards its 2022 targets of a 12.5% CET1 ratio target and 5% leverage ratio.
Lufthansa gained about 9.3%, while Thyssenkrupp, Daimler, Bayer and BMW ended stronger by 5 to 7%. Volkswagen shares rose nearly 5% after the company announced that the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand resumed vehicle production at its Wolfsburg plant starting Monday at 10 to 15% of capacity. The company plans to increase production to around 40 percent the following week.
Continental, HeidelbergCement, Siemens, RWE, BASF, Fresenius Medical Care and Infineon Technologies also rose sharply.
In the French market, Renault rallied 8.75%. Valeo gained nearly 7.5%, while Michelin, BNP Paribas, STMicroElectronics, Vinci, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, Veolia and Atos gained 4 to 6%. Bouygues, Dassault Systemes, Schneider Electric, Unibail Rodamco, ArcelorMittal and Essilor Exottica gained 3 to 3.75%. Airbus declined by about 2.5%.
In the U.K. market, TUI gained more than 13%. Carnival, Ashtead Group and Intercontinental gained 7 to 8.2%. In its Covid-19 trading update, Ashtead Group said it was trading in line with expectations in the beginning of March, and this continued through the second week of March with limited impact from the consequences of the virus pandemic.
Centrica, Whitbread, Rentokil Initial, ITV, Compass Group, WPP, Mondi, M&G, Burberry Group, Meggit and Aveva Group surged up 4 to 5.4%.
In economic news, French jobseekers increased at a record pace in March reflecting strong deterioration in the labor market amid coronavirus lockdown, the labor ministry reported. The number of people registered for work increased by 246,100, the highest rise since the records began in 1996. Jobless claims rose by 7.1%.
The ministry said the number of temporary workers registered as unemployed increased sharply in March, the ministry said.
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