LONDON - European stocks ended the day higher on Monday, tracking gains in Asia on the back of strong Chinese data, while progress on a U.S. stimulus package was also in focus.
European markets
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally 0.8% higher, with sectors including autos, household goods, tech and utilities all adding more than 1%. The travel and leisure and retail sectors both ended the day in the red, as did banks and oil and gas.
The pandemic continues to cause widespread concern in Europe with governments resorting to localized lockdowns to stem the spread of the virus. Spain's government has caused controversy after it imposed a state of emergency on Madrid and the U.K. government announced a three-tier system of local restrictions for England on Monday.
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks rose Monday morning as investors prepared for a busy week of corporate earnings and monitored stimulus negotiations in Washington.
Chances for another round of stimulus before the election appeared to dim over the weekend, however, as both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Republicans pushed back on a $1.8 trillion offer from the White House.
Stocks in Asia-Pacific mostly advanced in Monday trade, as investors monitored the Chinese yuan's movements after the People's Bank of China announced a rule change that made it cheaper to short the yuan.
In terms of individual share price movement, KPN shares climbed around 6.7% after Bloomberg reported Friday that Swedish private equity firm EQT was exploring an $11 billion takeover bid for the Dutch telecoms company. Virgin Money UK ended up around 5.5%.
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, Rolls-Royce slipped 12% after a volatile few weeks of trading.
- CNBC's Jesse Pound and Eustance Huang contributed to this report.