By Sara Sjolin
COPENHAGEN (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets headed for a
fourth straight day of gains on Monday as investors remained
optimistic about the outlook for the U.S. economy.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.4% to 322.36, setting it on
track for its highest closing level since early December.
Shares of ARM Holdings PLC (ARMHY) put on 2.3% after Apple Inc.
(AAPL) confirmed on Sunday that it has at long last reached a deal
with China Mobile to officially carry the iPhone. Apple uses ARM
technology in its iPhones.
Shares of Serco Group PLC gained 2.1% after the
government-services firm said it secured a six-month extension to
its contract with the Australian Government Department of
Immigration and Border Protection to provide detention services at
centers on mainland Australia and Christmas Island.
Shares of Skanska AB put on 1.6% after the construction firm
said it has been commissioned in a joint venture with Danish MT
Hojgaard AS to build a bridge in Gothenburg, Sweden.
More broadly, investors welcomed news that the International
Monetary Fund has become more optimistic on the U.S. economy.
Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the
Press" that growth is picking up, and that it is poised to
accelerate as the business climate sees more certainty in 2014.
Adding to that sense of certainty is a budget deal reached by
Congress and clear communication from the Federal Reserve about its
plan to wind down its bond-buying stimulus, Lagarde said.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Monday.
Among country-specific indexes in Europe, Germany's DAX 30 index
climbed 0.7% to 9,462.78, on track for an all-time closing
high.
France's CAC 40 index inched 0.1% higher to 4,197.03 and the
U.K.'s FTSE 100 index put on 0.6% to 6,648.31.
Banks were among major advancers, with shares of Société
Générale SA up 1.4% in Paris, HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC) rising 1% in
London and Commerzbank AG 0.8% higher. Deutsche Bank AG (DB)
climbed 0.7%, even after it late Friday agreed to pay 1.4 billion
euros ($1.9 billion) to settle claims that it misled Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac on the quality of mortgage-backed securities during the
housing crisis.
Outside the major indexes, shares of Premier Foods PLC slid 6.9%
after the U.K. food producer said it is still reviewing its capital
structure and that it includes the possibility of a rights
issue.
Bureau Veritas SA climbed 2.9% after the testing and
certification company agreed to buy Maxxam Analytics International
Corp. for 650 million Canadian dollars ($611 million) from OMERS
Private Equity.
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