During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.36%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.47%, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.23%.
Investor confidence improved after data showed that May’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index in the euro zone improved to 48.3 from 47.8 in April, indicating that the slump in the region’s manufacturing sector is easing.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI was revised up to 49.4 in May from a final reading of 48.1 in April and above the preliminary reading of 49.0.
In China, official data on Sunday showed that the manufacturing PMI to rose to 50.8 in May from 50.6 in April.
Earlier Monday, a separate report showed that China’s HSBC manufacturing PMI slid down to 49.2 in May, the lowest level since October 2012, from 49.6 in April.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lender Societe Generale edged down 0.19%, while Germany’s Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank declined 1.68% and 0.36%.
Peripheral lenders added to losses, with Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander dropped 0.55% and 0.90% respectively, while Italy’s Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo tumbled 1.23% and 1.99%.
Elsewhere, Sanofi plummeted 1.33% as the drugmaker said it will take an impairment after its Iniparib compound failed to meet the primary endpoint in a phase-three lung-cancer trial.
In London, FTSE 100 slipped 0.19%, even as the U.K. manufacturing PMI rose to 51.3 in May, the fastest rate of growth in 14 months.
Mining stocks remained broadly higher, as Rio Tinto gained 0.84% and Anglo America jumped 0.88%, while Tollow Oil surged 2.43%.
In addition, Polymetal rallied 2.64% after JP Morgan upgraded the stock to “overweight” from “neutral”, citing changes in pricing and output.
Meanwhile, financial stocks remained on the downside. Lloyds Banking dipped 0.02% and Barclays slipped 0.10%, while HSBC Holdings and the Royal Bank of Scotland declined 0.29% and 1.32% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.37% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.25% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.19% gain.
Also Monday, data showed that Spain’s manufacturing PMI rose to 48.1 in May, from a reading of 44.7 the previous month, beating expectations for a rise to 45.5.
Later in the day, the Institute of Supply Management was to release data on manufacturing activity in the U.S.
Albert Einstein
UM– USEKE.RW
