European Markets Climbed On Manufacturing Data

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended the first session of the new trading week in positive territory, snapping a 4-day losing streak. Sentiment was influenced by data which showed that Germany's manufacturing purchasing managers' index increased in December to the highest level in thirty months. The data overshadowed the drop in French manufacturing data and the manufacturing slowdown in China.

Investors will be watching intently for Wednesday's announcement from the Federal Reserve, upon the conclusion of its 2-day policy meeting. The weakness of the prior trading week was mainly due to investor uncertainty about when the Fed will begin tapering its stimulus measures.

The European Central Bank cannot stimulate euro area growth single-handedly and it will not do the governments' work, the central bank president Mario Draghi said. In an interview with the French weekly paper Le Journal du Dimanche on Sunday, Draghi said, "We will not do governments' work for them."

"It is up to them to undertake fundamental reforms, support innovation and manage public spending - in short, to come up with new models for growth.

Asked if the ECB has done all it can to kindle growth in the currency-bloc, Draghi answered, "In the context of our mandate, yes." "And we are always ready and able to act at a later stage."

The Bank of England will raise interest rates but only against a far stronger economic backdrop, chief economist Spencer Dale said Friday.

"We will tighten policy only when we are well along the road to recovery," Dale said in a speech to the Confederation of British Industry.

The interest rates will rise at some point. "But only against a far stronger economic backdrop, when your output is higher, your order books are fuller, and you and your customers are better able to withstand a rise in borrowing costs," Dale said.

European Central Bank Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen is to leave the bank to take up a new job in Angela Merkel's coalition government, depriving ECB of one of its key policymakers at a time when the euro area is climbing a thorny path to recovery.

Asmussen, 47, said Sunday he is quitting the job at the ECB for reasons purely of private nature. He will now serve as the Deputy Labor Minister in the new German government.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Monday that it would be a good idea to consider Bundesbank Vice President Sabine Lautenschlaeger as the replacement for Joerg Asmussen on the European Central Bank's Executive Board.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 1.83 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 1.33 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed by 1.74 percent and the CAC 40 of France advanced by 1.48 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. rose by 1.28 percent and the SMI of Switzerland gained 0.35 percent.

In Frankfurt, Lufthansa finished up by 2.29 percent. Liberum initiated the stock with a ''Buy'' rating.

Copper producer Aurubis fell by 1.86 percent. The company reported a 16 percent drop in its fourth-quarter profit.

In Paris, Carrefour increased by 1.93 percent. The firm said it plans to create a company for shopping malls adjoining its hypermarkets in Europe.

Shopping center property company Klépierre said it has signed a memorandum of understanding for the disposal of a portfolio of 127 retail galleries to a consortium led by Carrefour Group and capitalized by institutional investors for 2.01 billion euros. Klépierre advanced by 1.41 percent.

In London, Aggreko surged by 8.51 percent. The temporary power provider said its full year results are likely to be slightly ahead of expectations.

CRH gained 4.79 percent, following a positive broker recommendation.

BP rose by 1.61 percent, after it reached an agreement with the government of Oman over the Khazzan field.

UBM, which issued a trading update, declined by 3.70 percent.

Impellam sank by 7.30 percent. The holding company for outsourcing & staffing services expects total adjusted operating profit to be lower than last year, due to anticipated decline in profit of staffing businesses.

Technology group Cohort plummeted by 7.38 percent, after its first-half profit plunged.

Swedish apparel retailer Hennes and Mauritz gained 1.65 percent in Stockholm. The firm posted higher sales and comparable sales for November.

Merrill Lynch upgraded Holcim to ''Buy'' from ''Underperform.'' The stock climbed by 2.75 percent in Zurich.

Nomura downgraded ArcelorMittal to ''Reduce'' from ''Buy.'' The stock fell by 2.74 percent in Amsterdam.

China's factory sector activity slowed in December as output growth weakened and employment contracted further, preliminary results of a survey published by Markit Economics revealed Monday. The headline HSBC purchasing managers' index fell to a three-month low of 50.5 in December from 50.8 in November.

Eurozone's trade surplus increased in October from a year earlier, the latest data published by Eurostat revealed Monday. The trade surplus rose to EUR 17.2 billion in October from EUR 9.6 billion in October last year. In September, the surplus amounted to EUR 10.9 billion.

Activity in the Eurozone private sector increased at a faster pace in December, and to a larger extent than expected by economists, data from a recent survey revealed Monday. The seasonally adjusted composite output index, which gauges the performance of the manufacturing sector and the service sector, advanced to 52.1 December from 51.7 in November, a survey conducted by Markit Economics showed. Economists were looking for a reading of 51.9.

Germany' manufacturing purchasing managers' index increased in December to the highest level in thirty months, indicating a significantly faster growth in activity, data from a survey by Markit Economics and BME revealed Monday.

The seasonally adjusted manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) climbed to 54.2 in December from 52.7 in November. The December reading was the highest in thirty months. Economists were looking for a reading of 52.9.

Activity in the French manufacturing sector decreased at a faster pace in December, while economists expected the downturn to ease moderately, preliminary data from a recent survey showed Monday. The seasonally adjusted purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector dropped to a seven-month low of 47.1 in December from 48.4 in November. Economists had forecast the index to rise to 49.

The average asking price for a house in the United Kingdom was down 1.9 percent in December compared to the previous month, property tracking website Rightmove said on Monday. That marked the slowest decline for a December, typically a very slow month, since 2006. In November, prices dropped 2.4 percent.

British households' perception of their financial wellbeing remained downbeat in December, while their expectations for personal finances in the future turned less pessimistic, data from a survey by Markit Economics revealed Monday.

The headline household finance index, which measures households' overall perceptions of their financial well-being, came in at 39.7 in December, and stayed well below the neutral mark of 50, which separates improvement from deterioration. The reading was, however, higher than November's seven-month low of 38.8.

While the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report on Monday showing that its index of regional manufacturing activity bounced back into positive territory in December, the bank said conditions for New York manufacturers were flat. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index climbed to a positive 1.0 in December from a negative 2.2 in November. Economists had expected the index to climb to 4.5.

With output increasing by much more than previously estimated, the Labor Department released a report on Monday showing a notable upward revision to the pace of U.S. labor productivity growth in the third quarter of 2013.

The report said productivity increased by 3.0 percent in the third quarter compared to the initial estimate of 1.9 percent growth. Economists had expected the pace of productivity growth to be upwardly revised to 2.8 percent.

Additionally, the Labor Department said unit labor costs fell by a revised 1.4 percent in the third quarter compared to the 0.6 percent drop previously reported. The revision matched economist estimates.

With utilities output jumping sharply amid colder-than-average temperatures, the Federal Reserve released a report on Monday showing that U.S. industrial production rose by much more than expected in the month of November. The report said industrial production surged up by 1.1 percent in November compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 0.6 percent.