European equities rallied Monday as global investors track progress toward a US Covid release account against the backdrop of rising bond yields.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.5% in early trading, with banks adding 1.9% to drive profits as nearly all sectors and major exchanges progressed. Utilities were down 0.7%.
Futures contracts pegged to major US indices left overnight gains to turn negative on Monday morning as further hikes in bond yields continued to raise fears that central banks will try to tighten policies sooner than expected. The benchmark yield on 10-year US Treasury bills topped 1.59% early Monday.
The earlier rise in the future came after the Senate passed a $ 1.9 trillion economic relief and stimulus bill on Saturday that paved the way for unemployment benefit expansions, another round of stimulus controls and aid to state and local governments.
The Democratic-controlled House will pass the bill later this week. President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law before unemployment assistance programs expire on March 14.
In terms of individual share price movement, Swiss heating and ventilation manufacturer Belimo climbed more than 8% after a strong earnings report.
Stocks benefiting from lockdown measures and working from home slid to the bottom of the pile on Monday, with TeamViewer and Hellofresh both down about 5%.
– CNBC’s Jesse Pound and Saheli Roy Choudhury contributed to this market report.
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