European Stocks Close Higher as Retail, Tech Lead Rebound
On Monday, European shares closed higher as they managed to claw back some losses after a dismal beginning to the year with gains being led by retail and technology stocks, while energy shares slid due to a decline in crude oil prices.
The STOXX 600 pan-European index closed up 0.3% after dropping as much as 0.7% during the day.
Technology was amongst the top gainers and rose 1.2%, snapping a 6-day losing streak, while the retail index also rose 1.2%, recording its first gain in 7 sessions.
Last week the European benchmark recorded its first weekly drop in 8 after a stellar rally in the latter half of last year amid increasing hopes that major central banks would consider cutting interest rates in 2024.
A recent series of mixed economic data across the globe has however led to markets scaling down their expectations for future interest rate cuts.
On the downside, gas and oil stocks on Monday fell 2.6% as crude prices dropped more than 3% after a rise in OPEC output and sharp price cuts by top exporter Saudi Arabia.
Oil giant Shell lost 3.1% after the firm flagged an impairment charge of up to $4.5B for Q4.