By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets mostly rose on
Monday, keying off gains seen overnight in Asia where
better-than-expected Chinese export data signaled stronger demand
from the global economy and sent the region's markets higher.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.1% to 316.71, after closing
out last week with a 2.7% loss.
Shares of GDF Suez SA gained 2.4% after Bank of America Merrill
Lynch lifted the French utility firm to buy from neutral.
Shares of Tullow Oil PLC fell 2.1% after the oil-exploration
company said it has plugged a well in the South Omo block onshore
Ethiopia and abandoned it as a dry hole.
More broadly, investors looked to Asia, where trade data out of
China spurred optimism about the global economic recovery. Exports
rose 12.7% in November, well ahead of October's 5.6% and above
analyst expectations. Meanwhile, inflation for the same month came
in at 3%, slightly below forecast.
In Europe, data showed Germany's trade surplus narrowed and was
lower than expected in October, as imports sharply rose and
outpaced a modest increase in exports.
Germany's DAX 30 index climbed 0.4% to 9,210.48, while France's
CAC 40 index slipped 0.1% to 4,124,48. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index
was slightly higher at 6,554.06.
Mining firms added pressure in London as metals prices were
mixed. Shares of Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) lost 1.1% and Anglo American
PLC fell 1%.
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