European stocks closed higher on Monday with investors indulging in some selective buying ahead of central bank meetings and a crucial vote on a spending plan in Germany, while continuing to monitor the developments on Russia-Ukraine conflict.
A vote on Germany's spending plan is set to take place tomorrow. The proposal seeks to exempt defense spending from debt limits and create a 500 billion euro infrastructure plan fund.
It is expected that the CDU/CSU bloc, led by Friedrich Merz, will secure the necessary majority votes for the constitutional amendments that would pave the way for the reform measure.
Investors are also awaiting the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement this week. Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are also scheduled to make their monetary policy announcements this week.
Investors reacted positively to China's plans featuring measures to boost wages and stabilize stock and real estate markets.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.79%. Germany's DAX closed up 0.73%, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.56% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.57% up, while Switzerland's SMI closed with a gain of 1.09%.
Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Spain closed with sharp to moderate gains.
Austria, Greece, Sweden and Turkiye closed marginally up, while Iceland ended flat.
In the UK market, Phoenix Group Holdings Plc shares soared nearly 11%. The British insurer reported a better-than-expected rise in full-year adjusted operating profit and total cash. The group said IFRS adjusted operating profit increased 31% to 825 million pounds in 2024.
The Group said that it is now targeting approximately 1.1 billion pounds of IFRS adjusted operating profit in 2026, increased from a previous target of 900 million pounds. The Board recommended a 2.6% increase in the final 2024 dividend to 27.35 pence per share.
JD Sports Fashion, Entain, M&G, Fresnillo, Endeavour Mining, Kingfisher, Antofagasta and IAG gained 2 to 3%.
3i, Natwest Group, Prudential, Aviva, Whitbread, Vodafone, GSK, Pershing Square Holdings, Shell and Associated British Foods also closed notably higher.
Tesco ended down 4.4%. Marks & Spencer closed lower by 4.1%. Games Workshop, BAE Systems, Melrose Industreis, Sainsbury (J) and Standard Chartered lost 1 to 1.7%.
AstraZeneca closed lower by about 0.7% after it agreed to acquire Belgian biotechnology firm EsoBiotec for up to $1 billion.
In the German market, Sartorius, Siemens Energy, Bayer, Heidelberg Materials, BMW, SAP, Daimler Truck Holding, Commerzbank, Merck, Continental, Porsche, Siemens and Siemens Healthineers gained 1 to 3.5%.
Symrise, Zalando and Infineon Technologies lost 1 to 1.6%. Deutsche Bank, Vonvoia, Beiersdorf and BASF also closed weak.
In the French market, BNP Paribas, Veolia Environment, Eurofins Scientific, Accor, Societe Generale, STMicroElectronics, Stellantis, Credit Agricole, Sanofi, Airbus and AXA gained 1 to 3%.
Kering ended down 2.75%. Edenred closed lower by about 1.6% and Capgemini drifted down 1.1%. L'Oreal, Hermes International, ArcelorMittal and Legrand declined 0.7 to 1%.
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Market Analysis
March 14, 2025 10:53 ET Consumer price inflation data from the U.S. was the highlight of the week that saw a relatively weak news flow on the economics front. Other main data from the world’s biggest economy included the weekly jobless claims. In central bank action, the Bank of Canada announced the latest policy move and the European Central Bank chief issued a warning regarding the economic outlook. Housing market survey data was in focus in the U.K.