European stocks climb as traders assess earnings, economic data

European markets advanced on Monday as investors continued to monitor corporate earnings and key economic data points, assessing the risk of recession, CNBC reported.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index climbed 0.5% by mid-morning, with utilities adding 1.2% to lead gains as most sectors and major bourses entered positive territory.

The European blue chip index closed Friday’s session down around 0.8% after an unexpectedly strong U.S. jobs report lowered expectations for a recession, and in turn increased the likelihood of the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy more aggressively to bring down inflation.

Markets in Asia-Pacific were mixed overnight, with Hong Kong’s tech-heavy Hang Seng index weighing down the region.

U.S. stock futures nudged higher after the S&P 500 closed out a third straight positive week, with investors turning their attention to a key inflation report on Wednesday.

On the data front in Europe, August’s Sentix economic sentiment index for the euro zone rose fractionally from the previous month, but still pointed to a high likelihood of recession across the 19-member common currency bloc.

Corporate earnings continued to drive individual share price movement in Europe, with Siemens Energy, Porsche and BioNTech among the companies reporting before the bell on Monday.

British financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown gained more than 7% to lead the Stoxx 600 after Deutsche Bank raised its price target for the stock.

At the bottom of the index, British recruitment giant Hays fell 3.9%.