By Barbara Kollmeyer
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets opened higher on Monday, the first trading day of the new year, with auto stocks and banks contributing to the positive tone. The Stoxx Europe 600 index (ST:STOXX600 278.62, +2.81, +1.02%) rose 0.8% to 278.11, while the German DAX 30 index (DX:DAX 7,024, +109.69, +1.59%) rose 1.2% to 6,996.62, led by a 3.1% gain for Volkswagen AG (DE:VOW3 125.31, +3.50, +2.87%) and a 1.8% gain for BMW AG (DE:BMW 60.32, +1.61, +2.74%) . In Paris, the CAC 40 index (FR:PX1 3,887, +82.34, +2.16%) rose 1.2% to 3,850.17, led by a 4% rise in shares of STMicroelectronics SA (FR:STM 8.04, +0.30, +3.89%) (STM 10.44, 0.00, 0.00%) , a 2.7% gain for Peugeot SA (FR:UG 29.44, +1.04, +3.66%) and a 2% rise for Credit Agricole SA (FR:ACA 9.76, +0.26, +2.69%) . London markets were closed for a bank holiday on Monday. |
