Credit: Investing.com -
Investing.com - European stocks held gains on Monday, despite downbeat Spanish employment data, as investors awaited a highly anticipated policy meeting by the European Central Bank later in the week.
During European afternoon trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.66%, France's CAC 40 advanced 0.74%, while Germany's DAX rose 0.27%.
Earlier Monday, official data showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain dropped by 29,800 last month, compared to expectations for a decline of 116,300. In June, the number of unemployed people in Spain declined by 122,700.
Data late last week showed that the annual rate of inflation in the euro area slowed to 0.4% last month from 0.5% in June, adding to pressure on the ECB to implement measures to avert the risk of deflation in the region
Meanwhile, in the U.S., disappointing employment data on Friday eased speculation over the timing of a possible rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Financial stocks remained broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) jumped 1.89% and 1.51%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) gained 1%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) rallied 1.82% and 1.83% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) advanced 0.90% and 0.97%.
In Portugal, the central bank announced that it took control of Banco Espirito Santo in a €4.9 billion bailout.
Elsewhere, Daimler (XETRA:DAIGn) shares climbed 1.27% after the German automaker said it will cut spare-part prices for its Mercedes-Benz cars in China by an average 15% from next month amid a government investigation into whether carmakers manipulated prices.
In London, FTSE 100 gained 0.49%, as U.K. lenders continued to track their European counterparts higher and data showed that the U.K. construction purchasing managers' index slowed to 62.4 from 62.6 in June, but was still slightly ahead of expectations for a reading of 62.0.
Shares in Barclays (LONDON:BARC) advanced 0.84% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) rallied 1.44%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) surged 1.74% and 2.82% respectively.
In the mining sector, stocks turned broadly higher. Polymetal (LONDON:POLYP) rose 0.20% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) climbed 0.47%, while Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) gained 0.75% and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) jumped 1.10%.
Meanwhile, Barratt Developments (LONDON:BDEV) remained one of the worst performer on the index, with shares plummeting 1.47%, after Deutsche Bank restated the stock's "buy" rating.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30futures pointed to a 0.31% gain, S&P 500futures signaled a 0.37% increase, while the Nasdaq 100futures indicated a 0.29% rise.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
