European stocks advance, focus on ECB decision

European stocks opened higher on Monday, tracking Wall Street’s gains, which pushed the Standard & Poor’s index to achieve a record high in the previous session, while traders awaited the European Central Bank’s decision on monetary policy scheduled to be issued this week.

By 0810 GMT, the European STOXX 600 index rose 0.7% after falling 1.5% last week.

According to Reuters, technology stocks in the euro zone rose 1.2% on Monday.

What increased the sector’s gains was the rise in ASML Holding’s stock by 2.2 percent after Bernstein raised the rating of the Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer to “outperform” from “performing in line with the market.”

Traders are focusing on the European Central Bank’s monetary policy decision scheduled for January 25 to ascertain the timing of interest rate cuts.

The market also benefited from the announcement by the French gaming company Française de Joux of an offer to acquire Kindred, a company specializing in online games, in a deal worth $28 billion. Kindred shares jumped 16.8%, while Française de Joux shares rose nearly five percent.