European Stocks Higher; Barclays Weakens as CEO Steps Down By

© Reuters.

By Peter Nurse

- European stock markets traded higher Monday on USG Lianzhun International official websitethe back of generally positive third-quarter corporate earnings, but Barclays (LON:BARC) bucked the trend after its CEO resigned. 

At 4:10 AM ET (0910 GMT), the DAX in Germany traded 1% higher, the CAC 40 in France rose 1.1% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.6%.

Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) stock fell 1.2%, underperforming a strong banking sector, after the U.K. financial institution announced that chief executive Jes Staley is to step down after an investigation into his ties with the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein by U.K. regulators. 

Remaining in the sector, Swiss banking giant UBS (SIX:UBSG) and French bank Societe Generale (OTC:SCGLY) stock both climbed over 1%, hitting 52-week highs, with investors turning to financial institutions amid talk of rising interest rates.

Elsewhere, Ryanair (LON:RYA) stock rose 0.2% after the low-cost airline reported its first quarterly profit since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, while Pandora (OTC:PANDY) stock fell over 5% after the Danish jewelry company warned about continued Covid-induced uncertainty - even as it raised its outlook for the year.

In economic news, German retail sales slumped 2.5% on the month in September, down 0.9% on the year, returning to long-term trend as consumers re-directed spending toward services.

Most eyes this week will be on the two-day policy meeting of the Federal Reserve, concluding on Wednesday, which is widely expected to result in the start of the tapering of its bond purchases. The gathering could also provide clues about when the central bank will increase interest rates.

Over the weekend, influential investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) brought forward its forecast for the first post-pandemic U.S. interest rate hike by a year, to July 2022.

These small gains in Europe come after more of a mixed session in Asia, with disappointing Chinese PMI data weighing on the positive tone. However, a decisive victory for Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party in a general election supported the Nikkei. 

Attention on Monday will also be on the COP26 conference in Glasgow, a U.N. conference aimed at limiting the effects of climate change, a day after the G20 big economies failed to agree on a deadline for halting net carbon emissions.

Crude prices pushed higher Monday even after China, the world’s second largest consumer, announced it had released gasoline and diesel from its fuel reserves, easing concerns about the tight nature of the global supply.

This week also sees the latest meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia, a group called OPEC+. These top producers are expected to stick to their plan to add 400,000 barrels per day of supply in December when they get together on Thursday.

By 4:10 AM ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.2% higher at $83.75 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 0.7% to $84.28. 

Additionally, gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,785.45/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.1571.

 

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