Profits in European markets driven by the health sector

European stocks closed higher on Monday, with health care gains due to mergers and acquisitions, while Credit Suisse saw its share prices fall after its chairman resigned following an internal inquiry into his personal conduct. .

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.7% and shares of the Health sector rose 1.4% after losing more than 2% last week as the British GlaxoSmithKline jumped 4.1%. The rise in the stock came after confirmation at the weekend that the British pharmaceutical industry had rejected a 50 50 billion bid from Unilever for its consumer health business. Shares of Unilever fell 7.0% and hit a March 2020 low after the company said Monday it would continue the deal, which it said represented a “strong strategic deal”.

“The negative reaction to the stock price probably reflects investor fears that Unilever is going to return with a higher bid and possibly pay too much,” said Russ Mold, managing director of AJ Bell.

Shares of Credit Suisse, meanwhile, fell 2.3% following the resignation of President Antonio Horta-Osorio following an internal investigation, including a breach of COVID-19 rules. New chairman Axel Lehmann says the Swiss bank will stick to its reform strategy despite the departure of Horta-Osorio, who comes less than a year after taking over, to help deal with the collapse of investment firm Archegos and insolvency. of the UK Supply Chain Financing Group. Greensill Capital.

“We see the resignation as a negative outcome for Credit Suisse,” said JPMorgan analysts. “While the company states that it will continue to carry out its strategy, we believe that the ongoing turnover with the management changes brings further uncertainty.”

On the board, the German DAX closed at 15,933.72 points, up 0.32%, the British FTSE 100 closed at 7,611.23 points, gaining 0.91% and the French CAC 40 recorded gains of 0.82%, closing at 7,201.64 units.

In the periphery the Spanish IBEX 35 gained 0.36% and the Italian FTSE MIB gained 0.52%.

After hitting record highs earlier in the year, European equities fell in recent days as investors sought to assess the aggressive tightening of US monetary policy, along with a possible short-term economic slowdown triggered by COVID-19.

In the individual equities sector, those of Sabadell gained 4.5% after HSBC upgraded the stock to “buy” from “hold”, as the brokerage sees the return on equity of the Spanish bank improve faster than corresponding.

EDF exase 4.2%, extending losses after falling 15% on Friday as HSBC downgraded the French utility company, saying it would face higher costs and lower prices caused by government intervention and lower nuclear production.

The Belgian fell 7.4% to the last position of the STOXX 600 after the purchase of a share by the Belgian government, a move that analysts say could signal problems for the insurance company in China.