BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks were moving higher on Monday as more European nations including Spain, Italy, Germany and Greece moved to ease their lockdowns and media reports suggested that Japan is finalizing a plan for new stimulus worth almost $1 trillion to help companies ride out the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Germany's business confidence improved slightly more than expected in May, as European countries partly began to withdraw lockdown restrictions that were imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, survey data from the think tank ifo revealed.
The ifo business confidence index climbed to 79.5 from 74.2 in April, which was revised from 74.3. Economists had forecast a score of 78.3.
The benchmark CAC 40 climbed 40 points, or 0.91 percent, to 4,485 after finishing marginally lower on Friday.
Lagardere shares jumped 14 percent. Groupe Arnault and Lagardere Capital & Management (LCM) said in a joint statement that Groupe Arnault would buy a stake equivalent to around one quarter of the share capital of LCM.
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