BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed higher on Monday with investors cheering some encouraging economic data from the region, and continuing to react positively to last week's jobs data from the U.S.
Data showing an improvement in euro area investor confidence, and a jump in German industrial production aided sentiment.
Markets are looking ahead to some crucial economic events this week, such as the release of Fed minutes, U.S. inflation data, and the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement.
The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.47%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.41% up. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 climbed 0.79% and 0.72%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI finished with a gain of 0.45%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.
Iceland, Norway and Spain edged down marginally.
In the UK market, Entain rallied more than 5%, buoyed by reports that private equity outfit Apollo was mulling a break-up bid for the troubled sports betting and gaming group.
Rio Tinto, EasyJet, Anglo American Plc, Scottish Mortgage, Airtel Africa, Beazley, Fresenillo, Burberry Group, Schrodders and Centrica gained 2 to 4.5%.
Rolls-Royce Holdings, Glencore, WPP, Land Securities, Phoenix Holdings, Barclays Group, ICP and Frasers Group also ended sharply higher.
The Sage Group, Flutter Entertainment, Severn Trent, Marks & Spencer, RightMove, United Utilities and Haleon lost 1 to 3%.
In the German market, Zalando surged more than 7% follwing a rating upgrade by Citigroup. Energy, Infineon, Mercedes-Benz, Fresenius, Covestro, Sartorius, BMW, Continental, Vonovia, Adidas and Daimler Truck Holding gained 1 to 3%.
In the French market, Unibail Rodamco, Thales, Teleperformance, Carrefour, Eurofins Scientific, WorldLine, TotalEnergies, Vinci, Pernod Ricard, Renault, Airbus Group, Essilor, STMicroElectronics, Engie and ArcelorMittal posted strong gains.
On the economic front, Euro area investor confidence strengthened for the sixth month in a row to reach a 26-month high in April as expectations turned positive for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine.
The headline investor sentiment index advanced to -5.9 in April from -10.5 in March, data from the behavioral research institute Sentix showed.
Data from Eurostat showed Germany's industrial production grew by 2.1% in February, following a revised 1.3% rise in January. This was much faster than economists' forecast of 0.3% expansion.
On a yearly basis industrial production plunged 4.9% after easing 5.3% a month ago.
Germany's exports declined more than expected in February after recovering a month ago, data from Destatis revealed on Monday.
Exports dropped 2% month-on-month in February, in contrast to the 6.3% increase in January. Economists had forecast a monthly fall of 0.5%. Imports increased 3.2% in February after rising 3.3% in January. Imports were expected to fall 1%.
As a result, the trade surplus fell to EUR 21.4 billion from EUR 27.6 billion in January and also remained below economists' forecast of EUR 25.5 billion.
Switzerland's unemployment rate held steady in March after falling slightly in the previous month, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, said. The unadjusted unemployment rate stood at 2.4% in March, the same as in February.
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