Europe open: Stocks start higher ahead of eurozone PMI

European stocks opened higher on Monday, with plenty of corporate and economic news to keep investors busy.

The STOXX 600 opened up 0.44%, while the DAX was last up 0.66%, the CAC 40 0.72% higher and the IBEX 35 up 1.3%.

Investors were looking towards the Bank of England, as it prepared to release its Asset Purchase Facility Quarterly Report later in the trading day.

The markets will be looking for something positive, after a number of media reports over the weekend suggested several smaller UK-based banks were preparing to leave the City before the end of the year, with larger banking groups planning their departures for 2017.

Flash manufacturing and services PMI numbers for the eurozone were also due on Monday, with the first from France and Germany at 0900 BST.

“Once again the numbers are expected to be uninspiring while offering some small positives, with both French numbers seen moving back into growth territory which is a rarity,” said OANDA senior market analyst Craig Erlam.

“The euro area manufacturing PMI is expected to remain steady 52.6 while the services PMI is expected to rebound slightly to 52.5 but remain in a trend of slowing growth, probably driven largely by similar declines in the German data.”

Oil prices were down overnight, after Iraq confirmed it was not keen to be part of any OPEC production cut.

They began to pick up again in European trading, however, with Brent crude last ahead 0.14% at $51.85 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate up 0.04% at $50.87.

On the corporate front, Philips traded higher as third quarter sales reached €5.9bn, with the company also reporting a 14% improvement in EBITDA.

European media shares were also on the up in the wake of the AT&T and Time Warner deal in the US, with ITV shares in the green.

Low-cost carrier easyJet flew higher after a positive report from UBS, which raised its outlook on the airline as it turned its focus towards the EU in the wake of Brexit.

Royal Bank of Scotland was down, however, after it saw its target price slashed by analysts at Investec.