Europe close: Stocks gain after G-20 breakthrough
Stocks on the Continent started the week off on a positive note following news of a truce between Beijing and Washington on trade at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, at the weekend, and out of Rome regarding its ongoing budget stand-off with Brussels.
Nevertheless, the extent to which what for now was still only a temporary truce between them would lead fund managers to reconsider their bearish positioning heading into the end of the year remained to be seen.
On that note, Chris Beauchamp at IG said: "It is hardly surprising to see some trimming of gains as we head towards the close in London, but both here and in the US the opening gap up for equity markets remains intact.
"If this is the kind of reaction we get just for a ‘truce’ in the trade wars, imagine what will happen if peace breaks out? It looks like a slightly overdone move, but some weakness in coming days will most likely be an opportunity for buyers add to positions."
By the end of trading on Monday, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was ahead by 1.03% or 3.69 points at 361.18, alongside a 1.85% or 208.22 point jump to 11,465.46 for Germany's Dax.
Helping German stocks was a 'tweet' overnight from Trump indicating that China had agreed to pare back and eliminate its 40% tariffs on cars being shipped to the Asian giant.
On the back of the US President's tweet, the Stoxx 600's Auto&Parts sector sub-index climbing 3.04% to 490.60, alongside a jump of 3.97% to 408.87 for a separate gauge tracking shares of firms in the Basic Resources space.
Milan's FTSE Mibtel was also near the top of the leaderboard, adding 2.26% or 433.39 points to 19,622.36, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Italian government declined by seven basis points to 3.15%.
Boosting the Italian gauge and putting a bid into the country's bonds, on Friday the Eurozone's economic affairs commissioner, Pierre Moscovici, said he could see "signals that make me think that it is now possible [to talk with Rome]."
Paris's Cac-40 on the other hand was a laggard, although it too was up by 1.0% or 50.06 points at 5,053.98, as another weekend of clashes between 'yellow vest' protesters and police - that reportedly saw more than 100 injured and 400 arrested - weighed on sentiment.
Nevertheless, Berenberg chief economist, Holger Schmieding, continued to be optimistic on the outlook for France, saying: "Although he may not be able to deliver on all his reform promises, we maintain our big call that his reforms will reach the critical mass needed to turn France into a significantly more dynamic economy over time.
"France could still be heading for a golden decade."
Spain's Ibex 35 was sharing in the spotlight, adding 1.13% or 102.40 points to 9,179.60 as markets tried to make heads or tails of a surprise defeat for the Socialist party and its left-wing ally Podemos in regional elections in Andalusia at the weekend which might see the former ousted from power after their 40 year reign.
In economic news, a 'final' reading on IHS Markit's factory sector Purchasing Managers' Index printed at 51.8 for November, which was down from the prior month level of 52.0 but ahead of a preliminary estimate of 51.5.
To take note of, front month Brent crude oil futures were also on the up, rising 3.0% to $61.27 a barrel on reports that Russia and Saudi had agreed to extend their collaboration in balancing the market, even as Ottawa announced a reduction in its own output.