- European stocks opened higher on Monday on the first trading day of May; U.K. markets are closed for the May Day public holiday.
- Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 both opened 0.2% higher while Italy's FTSE MIB opened slightly above the flatline.
LONDON — European stocks opened higher on Monday on the first trading day of May, with the U.K. closed for the May Day public holiday.
Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 both opened 0.2% higher while Italy's FTSE MIB opened slightly above the flatline.
The buoyant start to the trading day in Europe follows a similarly positive trend elsewhere overnight with U.S. stock futures moving higher in overnight trading as investors readied for the first trading day of May.
Despite Friday's weakness in equities, the S&P 500 notched its third straight month of gains in April, adding more than 5% to the index as investors bet on a big economic and profit recovery from the pandemic.
Investors will also be monitoring the next batch of corporate earnings stateside Monday, and data releases that include U.S. manufacturing PMI data for April which will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET.
Meanwhile, stocks in Asia-Pacific slipped in Monday trade, with major markets in China, Thailand and Japan closed for holidays.
Investors in Asia-Pacific continued to monitor the Covid situation in India as the country continues to battle a deadly second wave of infections. Over the weekend, more than 400,000 daily new cases were registered for the first time.
On a quiet day for European earnings, Siemens Healthineers releases its latest earnings report. Data releases include German annual retail sales in March and French export and import data for March.
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