Europe Markets

Europe closes higher amid global rally

Europe closes higher amid global rally
VIDEO1:4501:45
Europe closes higher amid global rally

European shares started the week on a positive note, closing higher on Monday, as U.S. stocks advanced near record high territory.

Read MoreGlobal stocks near record highs as volumes wane

European markets


The pan-European FTSEEurofirst 300 provisionally closed 0.4 percent higher, with all major bourses clocking modest gains. Trading remained thin with public sector holidays in both France and Germany.

Banking stocks and miners led the move higher close to a record high, although shares of the U.K.'s Lloyds Banking Group fell 1.66 percent after it priced the high-profile flotation of its TSB division below book value.

The U.K.'s FTSE, Germany's DAX and the French CAC all closed up 0.2 percent as the the MSCI All Country World Index, which tracks equity markets across 45 countries, was higher on Monday, just shy of its record high hit in 2007.

Read MoreLloyds Bank prices TSB float below book value

In the U.S., equity indices hit record highs last week and looked set to advance their gains on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to an intraday record.

China posts surplus jump

The world's second-largest economy posted a big jump in its May trade surplus, with exports gaining 7 percent year-on-year. Asian markets were higher on Monday, helped by more data from Japan, where revised first-quarter gross domestic product came in at an annualized rate of 6.7 percent, surpassing initial estimates of 5.9 percent.

Read MoreAsia stocks cheer Japan, China data; Nikkei at 3-month high

In Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko was sworn in as the new president on Saturday, promising to bring peace to the country which remains divided with pro-Russian separatist movements in the east. Gas talks with Russia's Gazprom are set to resume Monday.

In other stocks news, shares of troubled Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena closed some 20 percent higher after the launch of a 5 billion euro ($6.8 billion) rights issue on Monday. Shares had failed to trade throughout the session until the close but they had been indicated higher.

Read MoreWhat falling imports mean for China's economy

Shares of Spanish bank Banco Popular climbed 4.3 percent after some price upgrades by Societe Generale and JPMorgan.

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