Technology stocks lead European shares higher; China-related stocks rise

By Shashwat Chauhan

(Reuters) -European shares advanced on Monday, with technology stocks leading gains following an upbeat close on Wall Street and a rise in China-exposed industrials after Beijing announced measures to aid its ailing stock market.

The pan-European added 0.6% after posting its first weekly gain in four.

Technology stocks advanced 1.1%, their first climb in three sessions, tracking an overnight rally on Wall Street after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday. [.N]

“Jackson Hole has not altered our stance with regards to Fed policy, the data up till now warrants a pause in the next meeting and the market is growing comfortable with that narrative,” said Georgios Leontaris, chief investment officer for Switzerland and EMEA, HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth.

China-linked sectors such as automakers and industrials added 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively, after the country’s finance ministry said on Sunday it was reducing the 0.1% duty on stock trades “to invigorate the capital market and boost investor confidence.”

“Overnight, we had the halving of the stamping duty which is clearly a positive intervention but at the same time, it does very little to lift the real economy,” added HSBC’s Leontaris.

China-exposed luxury heavyweights LVMH, Kering (EPA:) and Hermes added around 0.7% each.

Meanwhile, interest rate expectations in the euro zone remained tepid following the European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde’s speech late on Friday at the Jackson Hole symposium.

Latvian policymaker Martins Kazaks said on Saturday it may be too early for the ECB to pause interest rate hikes now.

Euro zone banks added 1.2%.

A survey showed the mood among German exporters further clouded over in August although there were signs of improvement in the beleaguered chemicals sector.

Bond yields across euro zone edged higher after a slew of economic data this week, including jobs data in the United States and inflation data in France and Germany. [GVD/EUR]

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also voiced similar concerns, saying that he does not expect interest rates to go down in the months ahead.

Heading into the last days of the month, the pan-European STOXX 600 is set for its worst month so far this year as elevated bond yields and a worsening sentiment towards China kept a lid on gains.

The basic resources sector is on track to be the worst performer this month, while most indexes are set to log monthly losses.

Markets in the United Kingdom were closed for a summer bank holiday.