European stocks experienced gains on Monday, buoyed by expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) might announce its first interest-rate cut of the cycle on Thursday.
Contributing to the positive investor sentiment, the Eurozone manufacturing PMI was revised upwards to 47.3 in May from April's 45.7, marking a 14-month high.
Additionally, a survey conducted by S&P Global revealed that the U.K.'s manufacturing sector improved to 51.2 in May from 49.1 in April, the highest reading since July 2022.
The pan-European STOXX 600 increased by 0.6% to 521.33, extending its rally for the third consecutive session. Germany's DAX surged by 1%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.6%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose by 0.3%.
In corporate developments, shares of Sweden's Ericsson climbed nearly 2% after the company announced the conclusion of a four-year program to monitor its compliance with a U.S. anti-corruption agreement, which ended on June 2.
On a less positive note, British pharmaceutical company GSK saw its shares plummet by 9.2% following a Delaware state court ruling that found credible evidence linking its Zantac heartburn medication to cancer. This decision opens the door to over 70,000 lawsuits on the matter.
Sirius Real Estate saw a 1.8% increase in its share price after reporting higher Funds From Operations (FFO) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. The company is an owner and operator of branded business and industrial parks in Germany and the U.K.
Lastly, Cerillion, a telecom billing, charging, and customer management systems provider, experienced a 1.3% rise in its shares after announcing a project with Virgin Media Ireland.
