Europe close: Basic resources drive gains, banks higher
European equity markets rose, boosted by rising metals prices while government bond yields continued to drift lower ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the States.
To take note, data from the European Commission revealed a sharp jump in consumer confidence in November, with analysts speculating that hopes for stimulus spending after Trump´s election win might have been the trigger.
The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.23%, Germany’s DAX was 0.27% higher and France’s CAC 40 was 0.41% firmer.
In parallel, yields on the benchmark 10-year German Bund were five basis points lower to 0.22%.
On Monday, US equity markets rallied, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 and the Nasdaq all closing at record highs - for the first time since 1999.
Oil prices reversed course, ending the day lower.
A technical meeting of OPEC delegates decided to defer a decision regarding output cuts for Iran and Iraq until the cartel´s next ordinary meeting scheduled for 30 November, in Vienna, Bloomberg reported late in the afternoon.
As of 1727 GMT front mont Brent crude futures were down 0.679% to $48.57 per barrel on the ICE, alongside a 1.43% drop for West Texas Intermediate to $47.56.
That left the Stoxx 600 sub-index for oil and gas just 0.16% higher. But basic resources provided the biggest uplift, with the corresponding sub-index for the sector tacking on 3.38% as steel rebar, iron ore and copper prices staged another advance.
Another gauge tracking lenders´ shares clocked in with gains of 1.01%.
Eurozone consumer sentiment perked up in November, rising to its highest level since December 2015, possibly on the back of expectations that governments in the single currency bloc might be set to loosen the purse strings.
The European Commission´s gauge of consumer sentiment improved by 1.9 points to stand at -6.1, ahead of the -7.8 that markets had been anticipating.
"Much stronger than we expected, and if these data continue we will have to revise our forecast for Q4 consumers’ spending up," Pantheon Macroeconomics´s Claus Vistesen said in a research report sent to clients.
In corporate news, Genmab was higher after receiving US approval for a drug, while Hikma Pharmaceuticals gained after signing a development and licensing agreement with Vectura for its generic salmeterol product (VR730) for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
AstraZeneca slumped after saying it will resume enrolment for a new cancer drug trial after the US Food and Drug Administration lifted a partial clinical hold on the enrolment of new patients with head and neck cancer.
Rotork surged after the engineering group said revenue for the year is likely to be at the top end of market expectations.
On the downside, food services company Compass Group was on the back foot despite posting a rise in full-year pre-tax profit, while Kingfisher declined as the home improvement retailer said sales kept improving in the third quarter, but like-for-like sales growth slowed due to further softness in France.
France’s Zodiac Aerospace was under the cosh after reporting a drop in full-year 2016 profit, while Essilor slumped after cutting its outlook.