Gary is off for the next two days – and Econintersect is therefore providing the market open from our syndication partner Investing.com:
European stocks were higher on Monday, as the previous week’s upbeat data from the euro zone continued to support sentiment, while investors eyed upcoming policy statements from the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.51%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.58%, while Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.81%.
European equities gained ground after data on Thursday showed that the Ifo index of German business climate ticked up to 106.2 in July from 105.9 In June, slightly better than expectations for a reading of 106.1.
A separate report showed that the euro zone composite purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.4 in the current month from 48.7 in June, sparking optimism that the bloc’s economy could emerge from a recession in the third quarter.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale added 0.16% and 0.15%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank slipped 0.22%.
U.S. stocks were mixed to lower on Monday, ahead of U.S. data as markets were jittery before the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated policy-setting meeting this week, amid ongoing uncertainty over the future of the central bank’s monetary stimulus program.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.23%, the S&P 500 index edged down 0.22%, while the Nasdaq Composite index inched 0.02% higher.
Markets were jittery as a string of mixed U.S. economic reports last week fuelled further uncertainty over whether the Fed will soon begin to scale back its bond-buying program.
On Friday, the University of Michigan said its index of consumer sentiment ticked up to 85.1 in July from a reading of 83.9 the previous month, beating expectations for a rise to 84.0.
The data came a day after the Labor Department said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits the previous week increased by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 6,000 to 340,000.
