VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - European stocks are poised to follow Asian markets higher on Monday as fears about Ebola faded and a rally on Wall Street Friday on the back of upbeat earnings and economic reports eased recent concerns about the health of the world's largest economy.
The Asian markets are rising across the board, with Japan's Nikkei index rallying nearly 4 percent, as the yen extended losses on optimism the country's $1.2 trillion pension fund will buy more shares.
Closer home, the average asking price of a house in the United Kingdom rose 2.6 percent in October from the previous month after a 0.9 percent increase in the previous month, property tracking website Rightmove said. On a yearly basis, house prices spiked 7.6 percent - slowing from the 7.9 percent jump in the previous month.
German producer prices and eurozone current account balance are among the handful of economic data slated for release in the European session. German producer prices are expected to drop 1 percent year-over-year in September after a 0.8 percent fall in August.
Across the Atlantic, investors eye earnings from some prominent companies like Apple, IBM, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Yahoo!, General Motors, Amazon and Microsoft as well as economic data on new and existing home sales, consumer prices and weekly jobless claims this week for further signals the U.S. economy is gaining traction.
In domestic corporate news, German auto giant Volkswagen AG said it is recalling 1 million cars, mainly in the U.S. and China, in order to inspect their rear suspension systems.
Aviation group Deutsche Lufthansa AG revealed on its social media site that the pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit have announced a strike again for continental flights from 13.00 on Monday.
Business software maker SAP SE updated its outlook for full year 2014 after reporting third-quarter profit of 880 million euros, up from 762 million euros in the previous year.
MorphoSys AG announced that it has received a milestone payment from Novartis in connection with the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of a HuCAL antibody in the field of diabetic eye diseases.
A consortium of investors are planning to float a $2.2 billion bid for the Reebok business unit of sports goods giant Adidas AG, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Royal Philips reported a third-quarter loss from continuing operations of 92 million euros, compared to net income from continuing operations of 270 million euros last year.
European stocks rallied on Friday, as dovish talk from central bank officials eased fears of a global slowdown and an early rate hike in the U.S. The German DAX climbed 3.1 percent, France's CAC 40 advanced 2.9 percent and the FTSE 100 index of the U.K. gained 1.9 percent.
U.S. stocks also rose sharply on Friday, as investors digested solid earnings reports from General Electric and Morgan Stanley and bet that central banks will add more economic stimulus.
On the economic front, housing starts climbed 6.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.017 million homes in September after a sizable drop in the previous month, while consumer confidence rose to its highest levels in more than seven years in October, separate reports showed, easing recent market concerns around growth. The Dow soared 1.6 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq added a percent and the S&P 500 jumped 1.3 percent.
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