By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) – European stock markets closed Monday with gains.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.7%, or 4.29 points, to close at 621.41.
Germany’s DAX 40 index gained 1.19% to end at 25,014.87 points, while the UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.16% to close at 10,386.23 points.
France’s CAC 40 rose 0.6% to 8,323.28 points, and Spain’s IBEX 35 climbed 1.4% to end the session at 18,195.1 points.
Italy’s FTSE MIB index also advanced 2.06% to close at 46,822.81 points.
The Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence Index increased to 4.2 points in February, beating expectations and reaching its highest level since July 2025.
Separately, Bank of France President Francois Villeroy de Galhau announced he will step down in early June, more than a year before the end of his term.
In corporate news, British lender NatWest Group said it had reached an agreement to acquire asset management firm Evelyn Partners for an enterprise value of £2.7 billion ($3.68 billion).
The euro was trading at 1.191 against the US dollar as of 1700GMT, up 0.8%.