European stocks closed higher on Monday, continuing their upward trend, fueled by anticipation that the Federal Reserve might begin reducing interest rates in September, along with expectations of monetary easing by European central banks.
Investors are eagerly awaiting the release of the minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting, as well as Fed Chair Jerome Powell's address at this week's Jackson Hole Symposium.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose by 0.61%. In specific markets, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 increased by 0.55%, Germany's DAX finished 0.54% higher, France's CAC 40 gained 0.7%, and Switzerland's SMI advanced by 0.71%.
Across other European markets, indices in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey ended the day on a positive note.
Conversely, the Russian market closed lower, while Denmark and Greece remained flat.
Aerospace and defense stocks saw a slight decline following reports that Germany, the second-largest contributor of aid to Ukraine, intends to halve its military assistance to Kyiv by 2025 due to budget constraints.
In the U.K. market, Barratt Developments saw a significant rise of approximately 3.5% after the company overcame a regulatory obstacle in its acquisition of Redrow. Other notable gainers included Glencore, Endeavour Mining, Fresnillo, Burberry Group, Anglo American Plc, 3i Group, RightMove, Next, Rio Tinto, Frasers Group, Ashtead Group, Centrica, JD Sports Fashion, Persimmon, and Vistry Group, which all gained between 1.5% and 3%.
On the downside, Hikma Pharmaceuticals declined by 1.55%. Spirax Group, Admiral Group, BAE Systems, Rentokil Initial, EasyJet, and Pershing Square Holdings experienced losses ranging from 0.6% to 1%.
In Germany, Zalando surged by about 3%. Porsche, Puma, Brenntag, Mercedes-Benz, Merck, Continental, Deutsche Post, BASF, BMW, RWE, Volkswagen, Sartorius, and Vonovia reported gains of 1% to 1.8%.
Rheinmetall fell by approximately 1.85%, with Covestro, Henkel, and Symrise also ending the day slightly lower.
In France, Stellantis, Kering, LVMH, and ArcelorMittal rose by 2.3% to 2.6%, while Teleperformance, Hermes International, Vivendi, Unibail-Rodamco, Edenred, Bouygues, Veolia, Legrand, and Michelin posted gains of 1% to 1.5%. However, Thales, Essilor, Air Liquide, Safran, and Sanofi closed on a weaker note.
On the economic front, U.K. house prices fell in August, aligning with the long-term average as some buyers postponed their home-moving plans to enjoy holidays. This pause coincided with an increase in buyer demand, driven by the Bank of England's interest rate reduction, according to data from the property website Rightmove.
House prices experienced a seasonal decline of 1.5% in August following a 0.4% decrease in July. Asking prices have historically fallen in August for the past 18 years, with this month's drop matching the long-term average. Year-over-year, the growth in house prices doubled to 0.8% from 0.4% in the previous month.
