Investing.com – European stock markets rose on Monday, boosted by mostly positive moves from Asia following last week's strong U.S. jobs report as a new corporate earnings season approaches.
As of 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), German stocks were up 0.2%, French stocks were up 0.3% and British stocks were up 0.3%.
Europe benefits from salary fallout
Europe's main indexes started the new week on a positive note, with Japan leading the way with a 2% rise, backed by gains in Asia and boosted by the latest US employment data that was better than expected.
The U.S. economy added 254,000 jobs in September, more than expected by nearly 150,000, according to data released Friday.
The announcement shifted the narrative from concerns about a U.S. recession to the possibility of a so-called “soft landing,” a cyclical slowdown in economic growth that avoids the world's largest economy slipping into recession. .
Eurozone retail sales deadline looming
Back in Europe, the economic news was less impressive, with data early Monday showing a 5.8% month-on-month decline in August, a sharp deterioration from the previous month's revised 3.9% gain.
The business environment for Germany's retail industry was cloudy in September, according to an IFO survey released on Monday.
The survey showed that retailers rated their company's current situation as slightly worse than last month and were more pessimistic about the coming months.
However, Monday's main release will be the latest data to guide how key consumers are holding up during this difficult time.
Retail sales are expected to rise 0.2% in August, a slight improvement from the previous month's 0.1% rise.
ECB chief economist and Governing Council members Piero Cipollone and José Luis Escriva are scheduled to speak later on Monday and are likely to follow the president's lead in signaling a brisk pace of further easing.
Quarterly earnings season is approaching
In the corporate sector, the third quarter earnings season is approaching, led by the US banking sector.
Major financial companies such as JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:), wells fargo (NYSE:) and BlackRock (NYSE:) both reported on Friday, with European companies expected to follow soon after.
Elsewhere, the energy giant showed in a trading update that refining margins in the third quarter fell sharply from the previous three months, as weak global demand also depressed petroleum products trading revenues. , Shell (LON:) stock rose 0.4%.
Gross parity increase rate last week
Oil prices fell slightly on Monday, regaining some of the previous week's strong gains as traders continued to monitor developments in the Middle East.
By 3:05 ET, the contract was down 0.2% at $77.86 per barrel, while futures (WTI) were trading 0.2% lower at $74.25 per barrel.
Oil prices last week posted their biggest weekly rise in more than a year, due to growing threats of regional war in the Middle East. Israel has vowed to attack Iran for firing a barrage of missiles at Israel after it assassinated its leader last Tuesday. of Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Israelis on Monday marked the first anniversary of the Hamas attack that sparked the war, but which risks sparking wider conflict in the Middle East.
