European equities rose on Monday, with global investors monitoring progress toward a US Covid relief bill against a backdrop of rising bond yields.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.5% in early trading, with banks adding 1.9% for leadership gains, as nearly all sectors and major exchanges moved forward. Utilities fell 0.7%.
Futures contracts linked to major US indices gave up overnight gains to turn negative on Monday morning, as further increases in bond yields continued to raise fears that central banks will seek to tighten policy earlier than expected. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield rose above 1.59% at the beginning of Monday.
The previous upward movement in the futures market came after the Senate passed a $ 1.9 trillion economic relief and stimulus bill on Saturday, paving the way for extensions of unemployment insurance, another round of stimulus checks and aid to state and local governments.
The Democratic-controlled House will approve the bill later this week. President Joe Biden is expected to sanction it before unemployment benefits expire on March 14.
In terms of individual stock price movements, the Swiss heating and ventilation manufacturer Belimo rose more than 8% after a strong earnings report.
Stocks that benefited from blocking measures and housework fell to the bottom of the stack on Monday, with TeamViewer and Hellofresh falling about 5%.
– CNBC’s Jesse Pound and Saheli Roy Choudhury contributed to this market report.
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