Europe Stocks Gain With Miners as Travel Firms Slump on Limits

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks eked out a small gain on Monday thanks to a rise in mining stocks even as travel shares slumped on new restrictions and concerns about the spreading virus.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3% by the close in London, with mining, health care and technology rising the most, while travel and leisure shares continued Friday’s declines after the imposition of travel restrictions.

European equities slumped on Friday after the U.K. re-introduced quarantine measures for several European countries, signaling a setback in the region’s return to normality. This has kept Europe’s main gauge within a range it hasn’t left since early June, in contrast to the U.S., where stocks have resumed their climb above pre-pandemic levels during mid-year earnings season.

Spain and Italy ordered discos to shut and Greece restricted hours for bars and restaurants amid concerns that Europe’s summer partying is reigniting the spread of the coronavirus.

With “negative news creeping in,” there is a belief that the U.S. Federal Reserve can act faster to counter the virus shock than the European Central Bank, and this helps drive U.S. outperformance over European equities, CMC markets analyst David Madden told Bloomberg in a phone interview. Also on the fiscal front, a series of political hurdles and procedures means that Europe’s stimulus may take until next year to disburse, while a U.S. stimulus agreement is widely expected to be reached, Madden added. This compounds the “negative news creeping into” Europe’s management of the pandemic.

Among individual movers, Cranswick Plc was the biggest advancer with a gain of 6.6% after the U.K. meat producer reported first-quarter sales growth of 24.8% and forecast full-year 2021 results to be ahead of the board’s previous expectations.

Miners advanced with metals prices after China’s central bank supplied liquidity to commercial lenders on Monday.

Travel stocks dominated the laggards, with TUI AG, Ryanair Holdings Plc and International Consolidated Airlines Group SA all falling more than 5%.

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