European Markets Rallied As German DAX Surges To New High

(RTTNews) - The European markets rallied higher on the first day of the new trading week. Every component of the DAX finished in the green, as the index rose above 12,000 for the first time ever. Investors shrugged off a batch of largely disappointing U.S. economic data. Energy stocks were among the weakest performers, as the price of oil dropped to 6-year lows.

Investors are looking forward to the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's 2-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday. The Fed is not expected to raise interest rates at the meeting, but traders will be paying close attention to the accompanying statement. In light of recent upbeat jobs data, many analysts expect the Fed to drop the word "patient" in its comments about future rate hikes.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 1.40 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.97 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed by 2.24 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose by 1.01 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. gained by 0.94 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.89 percent.

In Frankfurt, Siemens climbed by 2.42 percent. The company announced over the weekend that it reached a deal worth $4.2 billion with the Egyptian government.

Linde, which reported full-year results, gained 2.70 percent.

Deutsche Bank increased by 2.62 percent and Commerzbank added 1.55 percent.

Volkswagen advanced by 3.01 percent and BMW rose by 2.21 percent. Daimler also finished higher by 2.89 percent.

Carparts maker Rheinmetall fell by 1.10 percent. The stock was cut to "Hold" from "Buy" at Berenberg.

In Paris, Credit Agricole advanced by 1.41 percent and BNP Paribas added 1.47 percent. Societe Generale also gained 1.18 percent.

Lafarge dropped by 6.25 percent. Swiss peer Holcim decided not to pursue the execution of the combination agreement. Holcim dipped by 1.33 percent in Zurich.

Meanwhile, CRH, which had agreed to buy some assets from these two cement giants, declined by 4.42 percent in London.

In London, Balfour Beatty gained 1.98 percent. Jefferies upgraded its rating on the stock to "Buy" from "Underperform."

Tesco increased by 3.65 percent and J.Sainsbury added 3.67 percent. Next also finished higher by 2.79 percent.

Tullow Oil sank by 5.73 percent.

Germany's factory employment increased at the start of the year, preliminary figures from Destatis showed Monday. Employees in factories with 50 or more workers, was 5.3 million people in January, up 1.2 percent from the same of the previous year.

Swiss retail sales declined in January after recovering in the prior month, provisional results from the Federal Statistical Office showed Monday. Excluding fuel, retail sales dropped 0.3 percent from last year, reversing a 1.9 percent rise in December.

Swiss producer and import prices logged the worst annual fall in nearly five-and-a-half years in February, driven lower by further declines in oil prices and a strong Swiss franc, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Monday.

The producer and import price index declined 3.6 percent year-on-year, which was the biggest fall since October 2009, when the measure dropped 4.7 percent. The average asking price for a house in the United Kingdom was up 1.0 percent on month in March, property tracking website Rightmove said on Monday. That missed forecasts for an increase of 1.9 percent, and it was down from the 2.1 percent gain in February.

Homebuilder confidence in the U.S. has unexpectedly deteriorated in the month of March, according to a report released by the National Association of Home Builders on Monday. The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to 53 in March from 55 in February. The drop surprised economists, who had expected the index to inch up to 56.

With a jump in utilities output partly offset by a drop in mining output, the Federal Reserve released a report on Monday showing that U.S. industrial production grew by less than expected in the month of February.

The Fed said industrial production inched up by 0.1 percent in February following a revised 0.3 percent decrease in January. Economists had expected production to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.2 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Activity in the New York manufacturing sector has grown at a slightly slower pace in the month of March, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index fell to 6.9 in March from 7.8 in February, although a positive reading continues to indicate growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to dip to 7.0.