European Stocks Rally on Stimulus Expectations, Vaccine Hopes

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks ended higher on Monday, boosted by vaccine hopes and as the European Union was moving closer to an agreement on an economic stimulus package for the region.

The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.8%, led by tech, construction and health-care stocks. Shares in AstraZeneca Plc gained 1.5%, ending at a record close, after a coronavirus vaccine the University of Oxford is developing with Astra showed promising results in early human testing.

Equities across the region have remained within a tight range since reaching a recovery-high in early June. That level was briefly tested last week, after a gradual rebound driven by outperformance in chemicals, mining and technology stocks. With Europe entering the peak of mid-year earnings, a series of pre-releases that beat analyst expectations has signaled progress in the region’s economic revival.

Markets have already been pricing in some form of agreement on the EU’s recovery stimulus plan by Monday, said CMC Markets analyst David Madden. A greater component of loan-based aid, on top of Southern Europe’s already high debt burden, may equate to “one step forward, two steps back,” however, Madden said.

In company news, Italy’s UBI Banca SpA rose the most among Europe’s stocks after an improved takeover offer from Intesa Sanpaolo SpA late on Friday. Italian peer Banco BPM jumped, driven by local media reports about potential M&A interest from UniCredit SpA.

Meanwhile, French bank Natixis SA trailed the market, reversing Friday’s gains after short-lived takeover speculation was shut down by majority owner BPCE. Julius Baer Group Ltd. declined 3% after posting results that pointed to a slowdown toward the end of the second quarter.

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