Europe midday: Shares cling on as Roche, MorphoSys weigh

European shares were clinging on to gains on Monday, following a positive session in Asia, which rallied on news China was lifting some Covid restrictions.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.12% at 1200 GMT, with all major regional bourses higher. Asia shares were also boosted by news that China was providing a rescue package for its beleaguered property sector.

However, the mood was also tempered by reports of a record number of Covid infections in several Chinese cities, despite the authorities easing some lockdown measures last week.

In equity news, shares in Roche fell 5% after the Swiss pharma group said its Alzheimer's drug candidate could not clearly be shown to slow dementia progression.

The news hammered Roche’s licensing partner MorphoSys, which slumped 30%.

Rheinmetall shares gained as it announced a €1.2bn takeover of Expal systems, while UK events organiser Informa was higher after lifting earnings guidance.

Shares in digital ad group S4 Capital rose as the company said it was on track to hit 2022 targets.

Housebuilder Redrow was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘neutral’ at Citi, which cited a less attractive risk/reward, while Close Brothers was weaker after a downgrade to ‘sell’ at Investec.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com