European stocks closed higher

Frankfurt — After struggling for direction till around noon, the major European markets slowly gained in strength on Monday and eventually ended the day’s session on a firm note.

Oil’s retreat amid slightly easing concerns about supply disruptions contributed significantly to the positive sentiment in most of the markets in the region.

According to reports, despite the Middle East war entering its third week, several tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas crossed the key shipping route – the Strait of Hormuz – suggesting Iran may still allow some energy exports to allied countries.

Brent crude futures fell to $99.81 a barrel after climbing to $106.50 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures dropped to $92.27 a barrel before recovering to $95.00, still down more than 3% from previous close.

In addition to weighing the potential impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, investors looked ahead to the monetary policy announcements from central banks, including the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 0.44%. The UK’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.55% and Germany’s DAX ended up by 0.51%, while France’s CAC 40 closed 0.31% up. Switzerland’s SMI settled with a gain of 0.33%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden closed higher. Iceland, Ireland, Portugal, Russia and Turkey ended weak.

European stocks closed higher

In the UK market, Endeavour Mining climbed 2.8%. Segro and Haleon, both gained about 2.7%. Airtel Africa, Reckitt Benckiser, Melrose Industries, British Land, Hiscox, Prudential, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Natwest Group gained 1.5%-2.3%. Shell, HSBC Holdings, Imperial Brands, Aviva, British American Tobacco, BP, Land Securities, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Scottish Mortgage, Rolls Royce Holdings, Fresnillo, Unilver and Compass Group also posted impressive gains.Spirax Group, Croda International, RightMove and Entain lost 2.2%-2.5%. JD Sports Fashion, Intertek Group, Games Workshop, EasyJet, Metlen Energy & Metals and National Grid were among the other notable losers.

In the German market, Commerzbank soared nearly 9% after Italy’s UniCredit made a €35 billion ($40 billion) bid for the bank.Bayer gained about 4% thanks to a rating upgrade by UBS. Heidelberg Materials, Vonovia and Rheinmetall gained 2.5%-3%.Siemens Energy, Deutsche Boerse, Deutsche Bank, Gea Group, Adidas and Hannover Rueck climbed 1%-2%.Beiersdorf, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche Automobil, Daimler Truck Holding, Brenntag, Volkswagen, Siemens Healthineers, E.ON and Infineon closed weak.

In the French market, Unibail Rodamco climbed more than 2.5%. STMicroelectronics, Accor, Societe Generale, LVMH, Carrefour and Bouygues also moved notably higher.Edenred shed more than 3%. Capgemini, Bureau Veritas, Pernod Ricard, Thales, Teleperformance and Renault lost 1%-2.5%.

In economic news, UK house prices increased in March despite the new global uncertainty created by the Iran war, property website Rightmove said.

House prices increased 0.8% on a monthly basis to GBP 371,042 in March. This was a typical price increase for this time of year, following unusually flat prices in February.

Rightmove said home-movers continued with deals despite headlines about potential mortgage rate rises and increases to fuel and energy costs.