European stock markets closed broadly higher on the 21st. Calmer oil prices and strong corporate earnings improved investor sentiment, drawing buyers into a wide range of stocks.
Germany’s DAX ended the session up 1.35% from the previous day, France’s CAC 40 rose 1.06%, Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 1.17%, and Spain’s IBEX 35 added 1.21%. The UK’s FTSE 100 lagged with a 0.19% gain. The STOXX Europe 600 Index, which tracks the broad European market, rose 0.9%, with technology and energy the strongest sectors and autos the weakest.
Individual stocks diverged sharply. French retail giant Carrefour fell 13.8%, its largest decline on record. The company said it is facing an “unprecedented situation” in France and disclosed that about 50 stores were damaged on the first day of weekend unrest. Investors fretted over the hit to earnings.
Meanwhile, Italian eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica, which makes Ray-Ban sunglasses among other brands, surged 15%. Growth in its traditional eyewear business lifted third-quarter sales. Swedbank fell 3.0% as investors were discouraged by a decline in third-quarter net interest income.
On the oil front, North Sea Brent crude traded around $109 a barrel (about 17,000 yen) as concerns over shipping lingered amid a string of attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.
Market participants said a run of solid third-quarter earnings underpinned European stocks. European shares had shown increased signs of correction earlier on worries about rising energy prices and borrowing costs and intermittent political turmoil, but investors took a wait-and-see stance to assess the earnings results.