The European stocks rose after the first trading session of 2017 due to positive statistics, as well as the rise of the share prices of the banks. The composite index of the largest companies in the region Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5% to 363.18 points. France's CAC 40 gained 0.4%, the German DAX rose 1%, and the Italian FTSE MIB jumped 1.7%. The stock markets in the UK and Switzerland were closed on Monday due to the holiday; they will be opened on Tuesday. The banking sector index Stoxx Europe 600 Bank increased by 0.6%.
The shares of the Italian financial companies went up on local media reports that the troubled bank Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena intends to release in 2017 bonds for 15 billion euro to support its liquidity. The trades of Monte Paschi shares were suspended, reports MarketWatch. At the end of last year, the Italian Government announced the rescue plan for Monte Paschi using taxpayers' money. The share prices of other Italian banks rose on Monday: the cost of Mediobanca shares increased by 2.1%, and UniCredit (MI: CRDI) rose 2.6%. The share cost of the German Commerzbank (DE: CBKG) jumped 3.5%.
The European stock market on Monday was supported by data on the continued growth of manufacturing activity in the euro zone. The manufacturing PMI in the region rose in December to 54.9 points from 53.7 points in November, according to final data from IHS Markit. The December figure is the highest since April 2011. The shares of Volkswagen rose 2.6%.
In Italy, the index of industrial activity in the last month of last year jumped to 53.2 points - a maximum of 6 months. The forecast for the pace of economic recovery in Europe this year remains very cautious and positive surprises will provoke a rise in stock markets, says an analyst at Makor Capital Markets in Geneva. "Most institutional investors are betting on a market pullback after the rally over the past few weeks, so the market may fall into the bearish trap in the first weeks of this year", - writers Bloomberg quoting the expert.