European stocks closed higher on Monday, with the tech industry reacting after last week’s eight-month low, although on a monthly basis the pan-European STOXX 600 index suffered its worst losses since late 2020.
In particular, the STOXX 600 strengthened by 0.7%, with the technology sector jumping 3.5%. For January as a whole, however, the index lost 3.9% in the toxic climate created by worries about the tightening of US monetary policy, the global inflation rally and geopolitical tensions in the shadow of the West-Russia tension for Ukraine.
Technology stocks plunged 12% in January, recording the worst monthly performance since the peak of the global financial crisis in 2008.
On the board, the German DAX index gained 1% at 15,471.20 points, the French CAC 40 strengthened by 0.5% to 6,999.20 points, while the British FTSE 100 closed with marginal losses of 0.02% at 7,464.37 units.
In the region, the Italian FTSE MIB strengthened 0.9%, while the Spanish IBEX 35 recorded marginal gains of 0.03%.
Investors’ attention will be focused this week on the monetary policy meetings of the European Central Bank and the Bank of England on Thursday. The two central banks are meeting in the wake of the historic turn of the US Federal Reserve, which is preparing to implement an aggressive policy tightening policy this year to control the highest inflation in the last 40 years or so.
Although the ECB is expected to hold a wait-and-see attitude, the Bank of England is expected to raise its interest rates by 50 basis points in its second consecutive rate hike.
At the macro level, the Eurozone economy grew at a rate of 5.2% in 2021, with growth slowing in the fourth quarter amid a new wave of pandemics.
In Germany, inflation rose in January but at a slower pace than in December, when it was at its highest level since the summer of 1992, according to preliminary data from Destatis. Consumer prices rose 4.9% year-on-year in line with national standards, compared with estimates for 4.3%.
Source: Capital
I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
