Europe stocks higher as investors shake off negative sentiment; France's CAC 40 up 1%
- European markets opened higher Monday as investors shook off negative sentiment from last week.
- Markets are looking ahead to the Bank of England's policy rate decision on Thursday.
LONDON — European markets were higher Monday as investors shook off negative sentiment from last week and looked ahead to the latest interest rate decision from the Bank of England.
The Stoxx 600 was up 0.59% in early deals, with all major bourses and the majority of sectors in the green. Travel and leisure stocks led gains, up 1.6%, while mining stocks fell 0.3%.
France's CAC 40 rose 0.8%, recovering from some of last week's losses even as investors weigh the possibility of victory for the populist, far-right National Rally party, following French President Emmanuel Macron's surprise decision to call domestic parliamentary elections. The index fell more than 6.2% last week, marking its worst weekly loss since March 2022.
Investors are looking ahead to the Bank of England's policy rate decision on Thursday. The Bank is widely expected to hold rates steady at 5.25%, with the majority of economists polled by Reuters forecasting an August cut.
Elsewhere, Italy releases its latest inflation print Monday. There are no major corporate earnings due.
In Asia-Pacific, markets were mixed on Monday as the region assesses key economic data out from China. U.S. stock futures were little changed on Monday morning as traders start a holiday-shortened week.