Flags for the European Union members stand during a ceremony to lay a cornerstone for the new European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.
Hannelore Foerster | Bloomberg | Getty Images
LONDON — European stocks opened in positive territory at the start of a busy week for Europe’s central banks.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.38% at 8:05 a.m. in London (3:05 a.m. ET), with most sectors and major bourses in the green.
The U.K.’s FTSE index was 0.43% higher immediately after the opening bell, as Germany’s DAX gained 0.44%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.30% higher and Italy’s FTSE MIB was up 0.63%.
It’s a busy week for investors in Europe with the European Central Bank’s final policy meeting of the year on Thursday, when the bank is expected to keep rates at 2%.
Speaking to the Financial Times, ECB President Christine Lagarde said the central bank was likely to lift its growth forecasts again in December, after raising its prediction for annual GDP growth to 1.2% back in September.
Other central banks, including the Bank of England, Riksbank, and Norges Bank, will also hold their last monetary policy decisions for 2025 this week. It could be a close call, but the BOE is expected to trim interest rates. Eurozone and U.K. inflation figures are also out on Wednesday.
European leaders’ mettle will also be tested this week as they address funding for Ukraine at a summit in Brussels on Thursday, including the possible use of billions of frozen Russian assets to underpin a 210-billion-euro loan ($246 billion) to Kyiv.
Overnight stateside, stock futures were little changed on Sunday night following a mixed week on Wall Street amid a big rotation out of tech and into parts of the market trading at lower valuations.
Traders also braced for a slew of U.S. economic data reports ahead this week, including November nonfarm payrolls figures and October retail sales figures released on Tuesday. The reports were delayed due to the U.S. government shutdown that took place in the fall. The November consumer price index is due out on Thursday.
Asia-Pacific markets fell Monday, after the declines on Wall Street last week dented sentiment.
— CNBC’s Leonie Kidd and Fred Imbert contributed to this market report.
