Sharjah24 – Reuters: European shares hit all-time highs on Monday, starting the year in an upbeat mood on hopes of steady economic recovery despite a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.6% to hit a record high of 490.76 points in morning trade, surpassing its November peak of 490.58.
The benchmark recorded a 22.4% jump in 2021, its second-best yearly performance since 2009, as steady economic stimulus, earnings growth and vaccine rollouts made investors pour money into the stock markets.
Stock exchanges in Germany, France, Italy and Spain were up between 0.6% and 1%, while London markets were closed.
Among sectors, automakers led morning gains with a 1.6% rise, following monthly sales reports from several global automakers.
Banking stocks gained 0.8%, tracking a rise in euro zone government bond yields. They were the best performing European sector in 2021, as a surge in inflation pushed traders to price in faster monetary policy tightening, particularly in the United States.
Lufthansa jumped 4.9% after Citi upgraded the stock to "buy" from "sell", as it expects the German airlines to benefit from reopening of Asia routes, particularly China.
Air France KLM gained 3.9% as the brokerage upgraded the stock to "neutral".
A survey showed factory activity in the euro zone remained resilient in December, as factories took advantage of supply chain issues easing and stocked up on raw materials at a record pace.
While coronavirus cases saw a rapid increase in several parts of the world, investors were largely relieved following signs that the Omicron variant is milder than the Delta variant.
Italian truckmaker Iveco Group slipped 4.8% in its first day of trading on the Milan bourse following its spin-off from CNH Industrial.
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