BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European markets closed higher on Monday, as investors picked up stocks, after Chinese stocks rose sharply after state media Securities Times said fostering a 'healthy' bull market after the pandemic is now more important to the economy than ever.
Some upbeat economic data from the euro area, and last week's strong U.S. jobs data too contributed significantly to the uptick in European markets.
Investors also weighed an update from the World Health Organization (WHO) on coronavirus infections, and developments on the vaccine front.
The WHO said Saturday that more than 200,000 coronavirus cases were confirmed worldwide over a 24-hour period, with the U.S. accounting for around 130,000 new cases. Several states in the U.S. reported record spikes in new daily cases over the weekend.
The Sunday Times newspaper last week that the U.K. is closing in on a £500 million ($624 million) supply deal with Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline for 60 million doses of a potential vaccine.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed up 1.58%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 jumped 2.09%, Germany's DAX advanced 1.64% and France's CAC 40 spurted 1.49%, while Switzerland's SMI gained 1.26%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey closed with sharp to moderate gains.
Portugal ended flat, while Greece closed on a weak note.
In the U.K. market, Barratt Developments surged up nearly 8%. HSBC Holdings, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Persimmon, Scottish Mortgage, Evraz, Prudential, Standard Chartered and Meggitt moved up 4 to 6.5%.
Antofagasta, Berkeley, British Land Company, Intercontinental, Fresnillo, 3i Group, EasyJet, Royal Dutch Shell, Kingfisher, Royal Bank, Diageo, AstraZeneca and British American Tobacco also ended with strong gains.
Shares of Taylor Wimpey and Melrose fell 4.4% and 2.8%, respectively.
In France, Societe Generale and Renault surged up 4.4% and 4.1%, respectively. ArcelorMittal, Valeo, Airbus, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Capgemini gained 3 to 4%.
Michelin, Hermes International, Dassault Systemes Group, Peugeot, Orange, Safran, Accor and Vivendi also rose sharply.
In the German market, Deutsche Bank rallied 4.2%. Infineon Technologies and Daimler both ended higher by nearly 3%. Adidas, Deutsche Post, Thyssenkrupp, SAP, Continental, Volkswagen, Vonovia, Siemens and HeidelbergCement gained 2 to 2.8%.
On the other hand, Wirecard plummeted 19.6%
Swiss hearing solutions provider Sonova's shares moved up sharply after the company announced job cuts and said it expects a partial recovery in the first half of this financial year.
In economic news, Eurozone investor confidence improved in July, survey results from the behavioral research firm Sentix showed. The investor confidence index improved to -18.2 in July from -24.8 in June.
Retail sales activity also rebounded strongly in the euro area in May, as lockdown restrictions were eased in most countries. Sales in the 19 countries sharing the euro zone rose by 17.8 percent in May from April, Eurostat data showed.
A survey showed the U.K. construction industry surged back to growth in June. The closely followed IHS Markit/CIPS construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) surged to a reading of 55.3 last month, from 28.9 in May.
UK car registrations decreased again in June reflecting uncertain economic confidence and delayed re-opening of Welsh and Scottish showrooms, according to a report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT. Car registrations declined 34.9% on a yearly basis in June. Nonetheless, the drop was an improvement on May's -89% wipe-out.
German factory orders advanced 10.4% month-on-month in May, reversing a sharp revised 26.2% fall posted in April, official data revealed. Economists had forecast a monthly growth of 15%.
Germany's construction sector continued to contract in June led by ongoing weakness in new orders linked in part to the coronavirus, or Covid-19 pandemic, survey data from IHS Markit showed. The construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 41.3 in June from 40.1 in May.
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