European stocks rose on Monday, remaining within tight ranges after the previous session’s fall, led by resilience in luxury stocks following weak China data published over the weekend.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.7 per cent at 1,410.83 points by 0752 GMT, extending gains made last week, when it posted its biggest weekly rise since July.
US shares had finished Friday higher after the European market close, although Asian shares were mixed on Monday after Chinese markets were hit by soft economic data.
European shares are becoming increasingly resilient to uncertainty over Chinese growth, however.
Swiss watchmaker Swatch rose 2.7 per cent after Chief Executive Nick Hayek told a Sunday newspaper he was not worried by economic and market turbulence in China, noting its sales to Chinese customers would rise when stripping out exchange rate swings.
While the FTSEurofirst 300 index has traded in a range of just 100 points since August 25, volatility dropped 1 point, suggesting that calm was returning to the market after a August rocked by concerns over Chinese growth.
“It’s not as bad as everyone thought, even if China is definitely slowing down. There will be a period of calm in Europe, in contrast to China itself, where markets remain volatile,’’ Joe Rundle, head of sales trading at ETX Capital, said.
“Whether this is a proper slowdown or a temporary blip, at the moment people are assuming that it’s going to provide some sort of economic growth to the world.’’
Fellow luxury firm Richemont rose 1.8 per cent, while mining stocks, exposed to demand from top metals consumer China, also rose.
Top gainer on the FTSEurofirst 300 was ARM, with one trader citing a supportive article in light of Apple’s new iPhone designs. ARM licenses chip designs for use in Apple products.
RELX rose 1.9 per cent after the information firm was raised to “outperform’’ by Exane BNP Paribas.
On the broader STOXX 600 index, the biggest rise was provided by Television Francaise.
Its shares were up 7 per cent and were poised for best day in more than a year after the French government decided against allowing the return of advertising on public broadcasters
Traders said that volumes might remain low ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting later in the week. The Fed holds its two-day meeting on September 16 to Sept. 17 and markets are still guessing whether the central bank will hike rates then, or opt for December or early next year.