Merger and earnings news stirred European stocks on Monday, with broader markets quiet ahead of a key U.S. interest-rate decision this week.The U.K. FTSE 100 UKX, +1.04% added 1.09% to 7631.17, the German DAX DAX, -0.16% increased 0.11% to 12433.4 while the French CAC 40 PX1, -0.21% fell 0.06% to 5606.85.
“The key question facing investors now is whether the Fed can get away with a small number of ‘insurance’ cuts or whether it will be pushed towards a more fundamental loosening of policy,” said Neil Shearing, group chief economist at Capital Economics, which sees 75 basis points of Fed cuts over the next six months.
The London Stock Exchange Group LSE, +15.02% shares jumped 15% as the exchange operator confirmed it’s in talks to buy Refinitiv, owned by Blackstone BX, +0.04% and Thomson Reuters TRI, +4.37% , in a $27 billion deal to bulk up its offerings of financial data and infrastructure. Deutsche Boerse DB1, -2.08% shares fell 1.4% in Frankfurt, as the company said it now doesn’t expect its talks to buy certain currency business units from Refinitiv to succeed.
Ryanair Holdings shares RYAAY, -0.39% RY4C, +1.00% rose 1.4% as the low-cost carrier maintained its annual outlook as it reported a 21% drop in fiscal first-quarter profit.