Europe close: Stocks back at multi-month highs led by technology sector
Stocks in Europe clocked in with sharp gains, finishing the day at their session highs and in the case of some benchmarks at their best levels in several months.
Helping to offset investor caution ahead of the US central bank's eagerly awaited annual economic symposium scheduled for the next day were positive headlines around US-China trade and, for some analysts, the latest news around American elections.
Joshua Mahony at IG credited optimism around US-China trade and headlines around polling for US President, Donald Trump, for the improvement.
"Aside from fears of a second wave, the US election provides one of the main hurdles to overcome into the months ahead, yet the rise in market sentiment seems to have come hand-in-hand with the resurgence in support for Trump," said Mahony.
By the end of trading, the benchmark Stoxx 600 had extended gains and was up 0.91% at 373.12, alongside a rise of 0.98% for the German Dax to 13,190.15, while the FTSE Mibtel had turned around and was ahead 0.54% to 20,137.29.
In the background meanwhile, soybean futures had climbed to a seven-month high with Bloomberg reporting that China was set to purchase record amounts this year.
Pacing the advance on the Stoxx 600 again were Technology names.
In parallel, euro/dollar was drifting lower by 0.1% to 1.1823 and front month Brent crude oil futures were off by 0.26% to $45.74 a barrel on the ICE.
Italy became the latest country to rule out country-wide lockdowns, with health minister, Roberto Speranza, highlighting in an interview with Bloomberg that the "situation is under control, with pressure on hospitals that is very low, minimal."
On the economic side of things, overnight, German authorities approved a further €10bn of expenditures to finance the extension of the country's 'Kurzarbeit' job subsidy scheme until the end of 2021.
Elsewhere, INSEE reported that its French consumer confidence index was relatively stable in August at a reading of 94, the same as in the month before.