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European stocks start the week higher as global markets rally

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 22, 2024 in New York City.
NYSE

This is CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

European stocks opened higher Monday as global market sentiment rose.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.5% shortly after trading began, with regional bourses and sectors mostly starting the day in positive territory. Autos stocks led gains, adding around 1.3%.

Data releases include the Ifo business climate index in Germany. There are no major earnings releases.

Global market sentiment got a boost when President-elect Donald Trump signaled his intention to nominate Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent as U.S. Treasury secretary.

Investors have generally viewed the pick favorably and see the hedge fund manager as someone who will be supportive of equity markets. However, Trump stated that Bessent would help him implement protectionist trade policies, which could have significant negative impacts.

U.S. stock futures climbed Sunday night as Wall Street kicked off a shortened Thanksgiving trading week. Markets are closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving Day and end early on Friday.

Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Monday, with investors awaiting a slew of economic data this week, including China industrial data and India's third-quarter gross domestic product numbers.

European markets open in the green

European markets opened higher Monday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index adding around 0.5% shortly after trading began.

Sectors broadly traded higher as household goods and autos stocks led gains, both adding around 1.3%. Healthcare and retail stocks, meanwhile, were the only sectors to pull back, dipping by around 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.

Regional bourses were higher, with France's CAC 40 adding close to 1%, Germany's DAX rising 0.7% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbing 0.4%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Australia notches record highs as Asia markets mostly rise

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Monday, with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 hitting fresh highs.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.28% to close at 8,417.6, hitting a new all-time closing high. The index also reached a new intraday high of 8,462.1 during the trading session.

On Monday, Singapore released its inflation figures for October. The country's headline inflation rate fell to 1.4%, the lowest rate of inflation since March 2021.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 1.3% up, ending at 38,780.14, while the broad-based Topix rose 0.71% to 2,715.6.

In contrast, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.3% in its last hour of trade, while mainland China's CSI 300 was down 0.46% to close at 3,848.09.

— Lim Hui Jie

IT firm Atos receives offer for its advanced computing activities from French government

French IT firm Atos said Monday that it had received a non-binding offer from France's government for its advanced computing activities. The offer proposed enterprise value of 500 million euros ($523 million), Atos added.

Negotiations were underway with the target of having a share purchase agreement signed by May 31, the company said in a press release.

The French government had previously submitted a non-binding offer that also included Atos' mission critical system and cybersecurity products as well as the advanced computing activities, Atos noted. It added that it was now looking to launch a formal sales process for its mission critical system and cybersecurity products businesses.

Atos has long faced financial difficulties including soaring debt, and is currently in the process of restructuring. The company holds several sensitive contracts in France, including with the country's military.

— Sophie Kiderlin

UniCredit offers to buy rival Italian lender Banco BPM for $10.5 billion

Italian lender UniCredit on Monday offered to snap up its domestic rival Banco BPM for roughly 10 billion euros ($10.5 billion) in a move it says is separate from its pursuit of German bank Commerzbank.

The move would, if completed, merge two of Italy's largest lenders. 

Read the full story here.

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets are expected to open higher Monday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 22 points higher at 8,290, Germany's DAX up 127 points at 19,435, France's CAC up 55 points at 7,305 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 275 points at 33,912, according to data from IG.

Data releases include the Ifo business climate index in Germany. There are no major earnings releases.

— Holly Ellyatt

China’s central bank keeps medium-term loan rate unchanged amid yuan weakness

China on Monday kept its medium-term lending rate steady, as the country's central bank seeks to stabilize the yuan which has come under pressure following Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election.

The People's Bank of China kept the medium-term lending facility rate unchanged at 2.0% on 900 billion yuan ($124.26 billion) worth of one-year loans to some financial institutions, according to the bank's official statement.

"It is a well-expected move, given that the market liquidity [has] remained ample," said Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of Research, Greater China at JLL, citing PBOC's move in October that injected 500 billion yuan into the banking system.

Read the full story here.

— Anniek Bao

CNBC Pro: How to invest $500,000 for the year ahead, according to 2 wealth managers

As investors position their portfolios for 2025, wealth managers are advocating for a diversified approach with selective bets on undervalued sectors.

CNBC Pro spoke to Ollie Clark, deputy head of research at WH Ireland, and Mark Preskett, senior portfolio manager at Morningstar Wealth, about how investors with roughly $500,000 could look to allocate their portfolio.

One of them also suggested how investors could capitalize on President-elect Donald Trump's policies.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

CNBC Pro: Want to buy the dip in renewables? Morgan Stanley names 2 top picks with 60% upside

The sustainability theme faces an uncertain future under President-elect Donald Trump, but Morgan Stanley has named a number stocks with major upside.

The Wall Street bank identified its top overweight-rated stocks with over $2 billion in market cap and a revenue or capital expenditure exposure to sustainability themes.

Among its list of top stocks to buy are two renewable energy companies with over 60% upside potential.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

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