(MENAFN- AFP) European stock markets advanced Monday, with trading quiet in the absence of any major data releases, analysts said.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0.49 percent to stand at 6,599.10 points in afternoon trading, lifted by firmer mining share prices.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 added 0.09 percent to 9,299.79 points and in Paris, the CAC 40 won 0.20 percent to 4,198.17.
Miners and oil majors were higher as commodity prices rebounded from recent heavy falls.
"It's been a quiet start to the European session on Monday, as a lack of economic data combined with little direction from the Asian session overnight leave the markets lacking any significant catalysts," said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari trading group.
Wall Street shares were largely flat in opening trade Monday after hitting new records on Friday after the Labor Department said the economy added 214,000 jobs last month.
While that figure was weaker than forecast, the previous two months' job gains were revised upward and the US unemployment rate slipped to a six-year low.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.03 percent to 17,568.73 points in the first five minutes of trading, while the S&P 500 rose 0.07 percent to 2,033.41 and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.04 percent to 4,634.31.
"After the run the stock market has had, holding flat isn't bad at all," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.
"However, the stock market will be challenged by the belief that it is overextended and due for a pullback."
Asian markets were mixed Monday, with Japanese shares succumbing to profit-taking while Hong Kong and Shanghai rallied after a launch date was announced for a trading link between their stock exchanges.
In Monday's foreign exchange deals, the single European currency climbed to $1.2475 from $1.2456 late in New York on Friday.
The euro was steady at 78.48 British pence, while the British pound grew to $1.5894 from $1.5869 on Friday.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold increased to $1,172 an ounce from a $1,154.50 on Friday.
In company news, Cairn Energy said it had unearthed another oil find off the coast of Senegal.
It comes after the British energy explorer last month said it made its first oil find in a field off the coast of Senegal, prompting the west African country to say that it aimed to begin pumping its own oil in about five years' time.
Cairn Energy chief executive Simon Thomson described the latest find as "significant" for the company and Senegal.
The new discovery was made at Cairn's SNE-1 well, situated about 100 kilometres (60 miles) off the country's coast.
Cairn's share price surged 12.4 percent to stand at 177.40 pence.
In mining shares, Antofgasta jumped 2.1 percent to 718 pence, BHP Billiton rose 0.8 percnet to 1,688.50 pence, and Fresnillo climbed 1.7 percent to 746.50 pence.
Elsewhere, Britain's scandal-hit services giant Serco cut its profits outlook and revealed plans to shrink the group after taking an impairment charge of £1.5 billion ($2.4 billion or 1.9 billion euros), sending shares plunging by almost a third to 212.60 pence.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.