Forexpros – European stock markets were broadly higher on Monday, after U.S. Congressional leaders reached an agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, while U.S. futures indexes pointed to a higher open on Wall Street.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.65%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.85%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.7%.
Late on Sunday, President Barack Obama announced a deal between Republicans and Democrats to cut spending and raise the USD14.3 trillion debt ceiling, easing worries about a possible sovereign debt default.
Shares in the financial sector, many of which have exposure to U.S. treasuries performed strongly following the news.
German lenders Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank rose 1.8% and 1.1% respectively, while French banks Credit Agricole and Societe Generale gained 1.2% and 1%.
Shares in Europe’s second largest express delivery service TNT Express climbed 3.9% after it said second quarter revenue rose 3.5% to EUR1.84 billion, above expectations for revenue of EUR1.81 billion.
In London, the FTSE 100 rallied 1.2% after the country’s largest lender HSBC Holdings reported better-than-expected first half earnings.
The lender saw shares jump 4.45% after it said net profit in the first six months of the year rose 35% to GBP5.46 billion, as loan impairments dropped 30%. The company also said it planned to cut nearly 5,000 jobs as part of its plan to save between GBP1.5 billion and GBP2.1 billion.
Commodity-linked shares were also higher, with mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto gaining 1.95% and 2.2% respectively, while copper producer Xstrata saw shares add 1.5%.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was upbeat ahead of earnings reports from hotel operator Loews, insurance provider Allstate Insurance and health insurer Humana.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.65%, the S&P 500 futures rose 0.75%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 0.9%.
Later in the day, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management was to publish data on manufacturing activity.
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