Europe close: Stocks end slightly higher
Stocks on the Continent finished the session slightly higher on optimism percolating in bond markets that a political solution might be found to the impasse between the regional authorities in Catalonia and the central government.
At the close of trading, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was ahead by 0.19% or 0.74 points at 390.21, alongside gains of 0.11% or 5.93 points to 5,365.83 for the Cac-40 and a rise of 0.16% or 20.46 points to 12,976.40 in the German Dax.
Spain's Ibex 35 on the other hand was up by 0.50% or 50.50 points to 10,236.0, with the yield on the country's 10-year government bond down by three basis points at 1.68%.
At the weekend, almost 1.0m people (350,000 according to local authorities) marched through Barcelona in defence of Spanish unity. Additionally, Madrid made an official apology for the violence that marred the previous weekend's illegal referendum.
Nonetheless, by the close of trading it remained unclear whether the regional president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, would issue a declaration of independence the next day, at 1700 BST, or if he might sincerely try to bridge the gap.
In a speech on Monday evening, Barcelona mayor Ada Colau called on both sides to come to the table, albeit while calling for outside mediation.
On the other hand, members of the PDeCat party - Puigdemont's own - appeared to issue conflicting remarks to the BBC and Spanish radio regarding Puigdemont's intention.
Meanwhile, in Madrid, various politicians and political figures played down the threat of arrest against Puigdemont as some protesters at the weekend had called for, insisting that it was for the courts to decide on any legal responsibilities linked to the illegal independence referendum.
Commenting on the situation in Catalonia, analysts at Barclays Research said Saturday's demonstrations in Barcelona made a unilateral declaration of independence "marginally less likely".
In any case, whether or not Puigdemont were to renounce making a unilateral declaration of independence or opted instead to go ahead, leading Madrid to suspend some of the region's autonomy, snap regional elections in Catalonia were now the most likely scenario, Barclays said.
Farther afield, the US dollar jumped 3.0% to 3.7233 versus the Turkish lira, after America and Turkey froze consular services for each other following the arrest of a US consulate worker the week before.
On the economic front, Sentix's euro area investor confidence index for October advanced 1.5 points to 29.7 - a new 10 -year high.
Sentix concluded that the elections to the Bundestag could be considered a "success", adding that the global economic engine continues to gain strength.
Industrial production in Germany jumped by 2.6% month-on-month in August, led by a 4.8% rise in output of capital goods, according to the Ministry of Finance, dwarfing forecasts for an increase of 0.8%.
As far as the corporate news-flow was concerned, speaking to Handelsblatt Credit Agricole boss Philippe Brassac said the lender would be interested in Commerzbank if it were put on the auction block.
Down under, France's Accor offered £920m (£701m) for Mantra Group as it seeks to merge the two largest hotel owners in that country.
According to La Stampa, Spain's stockmarket regulator was set to authorise Italian rival Atlantia's takeover of Abertis.