Dec 15 (Reuters) – European shares edged higher on Monday, with most sectors trading in the green, as investors returned to risk assets after ending the previous week on a slightly dour note.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.4% at 580.35, as of 0808 GMT, remaining within striking distance of an intraday record high. Major regional bourses also advanced, with Spain’s up 0.8% and London’s gaining 0.4%.
The STOXX 600 slipped into a weekly decline at the last minute on Friday, tracking losses on Wall Street, after U.S. chipmaker Broadcom’s profit margin warning rekindled concerns over a potential AI bubble.
The market staged a broader recovery on Monday, with 19 of the 20 main sectors trading higher, with heavyweight banks and energy stocks up more than 1% each.
Healthcare was the only sector in the red, weighed down by a nearly 5% drop in French drugmaker Sanofi after expectations grew that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would delay a decision on its multiple sclerosis drug tolebrutinib.
Over the weekend, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy offered to drop the country’s aspirations to join the NATO military alliance after talks with the U.S. on Berlin, that are set to continue on Monday.
Major defence firms slipped, with Rheinmetall and Renk off 1.6% and 2%, respectively. The broader aerospace and defence index was off 0.1%.
(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
