Investors have shunned Europe's banking sector hit by a cocktail of lower global borrowing costs, rising bad loans due to the economic downturn and a dirty money scandal that made it the worst performer this year with a 42 per cent decline.
Investors have been wary about a second wave of coronavirus infections hampering business activity in Europe, while uncertainty about more US fiscal stimulus and a Brexit trade deal have all sparked bouts of volatility in financial markets this month. However, the worst weekly selloff in three months drove bargain hunters to step in, while data showed profits at China's industrial firms grew for the fourth straight month in August helped the trade-sensitive German index outperform.
ArcelorMittal gained 4.8 per cent after Cleveland-Cliffs Inc agreed to buy the US assets of the steelmaker for about $1.4 billion.