Europe close: Shares climb amid hopes for trade deal
European stocks were higher on Monday as investor optimism for a Sino-US trade agreement was boosted by comments from Washington.
By the end of trading, the Stoxx 600 was 1.0% higher at 403.41, as Germany's Dax jumped 1.35% to 13,136.28 and the French CAC 40 climbed by 1.08% to 5,824.30. Meanwhile, London's FTSE 100 was up by 0.92% at 7,369.69.
US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross told Bloomberg on Sunday that an initial trade deal will be reached soon and added that American companies will be given licenses to do business with Chinese telecoms giant Huawei "very shortly".
IG analyst Joshua Mahony said: "Conflicting reports of progress throughout recent weeks do little to provide too much stability for markets, yet there is no doubt that we feel closer than ever to seeing some form of partial deal come to fruition.
"With the Chile summit cancelled, the target date is likely to shift as we await confirmation of the replacement meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump."
Meanwhile, automotive stocks such as Peugeot, Ferrari and Faurecia were higher after Ross said he hoped to avoid imposing tariffs on vehicles imported from the European Union.
On the data front, the IHS Markit eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose from 45.7 in September to 45.9 in October, beating expectations for a flat reading but remaining below the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said: "Geopolitical concerns, ranging from Brexit to US trade policy, continue to create uncertainty, further dampening demand both at home and in export markets.
"The focus of manufacturers remains on cost cutting, reducing inventories and investment spending while also lowering payroll numbers at an increased rate."
Among individual stocks, Siemens Healthineers climbed after the German medical technology company beat fourth quarter sales and profit expectations and said it expected strong growth to continue into next year.
Ryanair was also among the top risers, even as it narrowed full-year profit guidance and warned that passenger growth would be hit by a delay to the first deliveries of its new Boeing 737 MAX planes.