By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets rose on Monday,
mirroring gains in Asia, where markets rallied after a statement
from the G-20 Group was interpreted as supporting Tokyo's
aggressive easing measures.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.5% to 286.65, partly
recovering from a 2.5% selloff from last week.
Shares of Delhaize Group jumped 7.9%, after the Belgian food
retailer reported a 3.8% increase in first-quarter organic revenue
growth.
On a more downbeat note, Norwegian fertilizer firm Yara
International ASA lost 2.8%, after reporting a 25% fall in
first-quarter profit.
The broader European stock market tracked gains in Asia, where a
statement from the Group of 20 major economies helped sent the yen
tumbling in the overnight session and boosted stock markets. The
G-20 leaders refrained from criticizing Japan for policies that
recently sent the yen to multiyearr lows, which was widely
interpreted as the international community offering its support for
Tokyo's monetary stimulus. Read: Approval ratings for Japan PM jump
as Abenomics takes hold
Back in Europe, Italian shares posted some of the biggest gains
after the Italian parliament over the weekend re-elected Giorgio
Napolitano as president, following weeks of political
uncertainty.
The FTSE MIB index jumped 1.5% to 15,991.25. Shares of Banco
Popolare SC added 3.9%, UniCredit SpA gained 2.8% and Intesa
Sanpaolo SpA picked up 1.9%.
Banks were also higher elsewhere, with BNP Paribas SA up 1.2% in
Paris and Société Générale SA climbing 1.1%.
Also in France, investment bank Natixis put on 3.2%, after
Credit Suisse lifted the firm to outperform from neutral.
The CAC 40 index was up 0.1% at 3,653.75.
Germany's DAX 30 index added 0.3%, on track to break a six-day
losing streak.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index climbed 0.4% to 6,310.44.
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