European Markets Finished In The Green Monday

(RTTNews) - The European markets began the new trading week in positive territory, extending the gains from the previous week. Asian markets finished broadly higher also Monday and the positive performance of the U.S. markets has provided further support. The string of better than expected U.S. economic data also continued this afternoon with a strong consumer sentiment report.

The International Monetary Fund raised its outlook for the U.S. economy, citing falling unemployment, some signs of compromise in Congress and the Federal Reserve's plan to start tapering its $85 billion monthly bond-buying program.

The Italian economy may be exiting recession signaled by a strong turnaround in confidence indicators, but downside risks remain, European Central Bank Executive Board member Peter Praet said on Sunday.

"The turning point is still very fragile, we are only at the beginning of this," Praet said in an interview to the Italian daily La Stampa. "That's why we always say that there are downside risks, especially if structural reforms are stopped."

Businesses see the situation improving, but feel it is still not sufficient to start investing, Praet noted. He expects investment to start recovering in 2014.

The Bank of England is watching the housing market and will use all possible tools at its disposal to curb a property bubble, Deputy Governor Andrew Bailey said in an interview published on Saturday.

"We are watching the housing market very carefully," Bailey told the Daily Telegraph. "We've laid out the tools that we can use. That is hugely important - that we have set out our desire to see robust mortgage underwriting standards and that will be part of the approach," he was quoted as saying.

"We know sadly from history mortgage underwriting standards are very cyclical," Bailey said. He indicated that there will be a clampdown on house purchases if there is any evidence that increasing prices are spiraling out of control.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 0.59 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.61 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed by 0.94 percent and the CAC 40 of France advanced by 0.51 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. rose by 1.09 percent and the SMI of Switzerland gained 0.32 percent.

In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank increased by 1.13 percent and Commerzbank added 0.80 percent.

Siemens gained 0.94 percent, after it signed a contract to build a U.S. offshore wind farm.

Aareal Bank climbed by 4.37 percent, after it announced an acquisition.

In Paris, Societe Generale advanced by 1.48 percent. BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole gained 1.62 percent and 0.30 percent, respectively.

Bureau Veritas rose by 3.46 percent, after it agreed to acquire Maxxam Analytics International Corp.

In London, Arm Holdings increased by 3.93 percent. Apple announced Sunday that it has entered into a long-awaited multi-year deal to bring iPhone to China Mobile Ltd. Arm Holdings supplies chips for iPhones.

Outsourcing and support services provider Serco Group secured a six-month extension to its contract with the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection. The stock gained 2.80 percent.

Standard Chartered climbed by 2.43 percent and HSBC added 1.35 percent. Barclays increased by 1.79 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland gained 0.83 percent.

Mulberry Group dipped by 0.05 percent, after a broker downgrade at Goldman Sachs.

Skanska advanced by 1.48 percent in Stockholm, after its joint venture was commissioned to build a bridge.

Germany's import prices declined at a slower rate in November from last year, data released by the Federal Statistical Office showed on Monday. The import price index decreased 2.9 percent year-on-year, following a 3 percent fall in October. Economists had expected the index to drop 3.1 percent.

Exports prices declined 1.1 percent year-on-year in November, after falling 1 percent in each of the previous three months.

Italy's consumer confidence weakened in December, in contrast to expectations for a modest improvement, data released by the statistical office ISTAT showed on Monday. The consumer confidence index eased to 96.2 from 98.2 in November, which was slightly revised from the initial score of 98.3. Economists were looking for a higher reading of 98.9.

While the Commerce Department released a report on Monday showing that U.S. personal income rose by less than expected in the month of November, the report still showed that personal spending increased in line with estimates.

The report said personal income crept up by 0.2 percent in November after edging down by 0.1 percent in October. Economists had been expecting income to increase by about 0.5 percent.

At the same time, the Commerce Department said personal spending rose by 0.5 percent in November following a 0.4 percent increase in October. The increase in spending matched the expectations of economists.

Consumer sentiment in the U.S. showed a notable improvement in the month of December, according to a report released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan on Friday, with the consumer sentiment index unrevised from the preliminary estimate.

The report showed that the final reading on the consumer sentiment index for December came in at 82.5, up from the final November reading of 75.1. Economists had expected the index to be upwardly revised to a reading of 83.5.