By Investors Hub
European stocks have advanced on Monday as strong U.S. jobs data released last week coupled with encouraging data releases from Germany and France helped boost investor confidence in the global economy.
The U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 0.2 percent, although the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line.
The pound rose against both the dollar and the euro as the resignation of Brexit secretary David Davis helped fuel expectations that a soft Brexit was more likely.
Mining giant BHP Billiton has rallied on buzz that BP could buy its U.S. shale assets.
Cairn Energy has also moved notably higher after issuing an update on its ongoing arbitration with the Government of India under the UK-India Bilateral Investment Treaty.
Elior Group has advanced after the French catering and support services provider launched an offer to purchase minority interests of Elior North America.
Air France KLM has also moved sharply higher after reporting 4.5 percent growth in passenger traffic for June.
On the other hand, gold mining firm Centamin has slumped after reporting a significant drop in gold production for the second quarter from its Sukari Gold Mine in Egypt.
Hikma Pharma has also tumbled after it signed a licensing and distribution agreement with Omega Pharma.
On the data front, German exports grew by more-than-expected 1.8 percent on a monthly basis in May, reversing a 0.3 percent drop in April, figures from Destatis showed. Shipments were expected to gain only 0.7 percent.
Separately, survey data from think tank Sentix revealed that Eurozone investor sentiment improved in July after a sharp slide in June. The investor confidence index rose unexpectedly to 12.1 from 9.3 in June. The expected score was 9.0.
France’s economy is set to expand as previously estimated in the second quarter, according to a monthly survey from Bank of France. The central bank forecast 0.3 percent growth for the second quarter, the same rate as estimated previously.
