EUROPE Stocks gain on upbeat German Ifo business index

European stock markets were notably higher on Monday, 19 December 2022, as investors chased for bottom fishing following heavy losses last week and improvement in the German Ifo business sentiment for December.

At 13:50 GMT, the pan European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.5% to 426.88. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index added 0.5% to 7,368.06. France's CAC 40 index grew 0.47% to 6,483.09. Germany's DAX index advanced 0.44% to 13,954.36. Switzerland's Swiss Market index jumped 0.35% to 10,807.80.

European equities suffered heavy losses last week, after the European Central Bank eased the pace of its interest rate hikes but stressed significant tightening remained ahead as it fights elevated inflation.

The Ifo business-climate index rose to 88.6 points in December from a revised 86.4 in November, with both of the two sub-indices rising. The expectations index rose to 83.2 from a two-year low of 80.2, while the assessment of current conditions rose to 94.4 from 93.2.

Shares of energy companies gained as oil prices jumped around 1% on optimism over demand recovery due to China's easing of COVID curbs. BP Plc gained more than 3%, Shell added 2.9% and TotalEnergies surged 3.1%.

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