Market Analysis

European shares began the week on a positive note on Monday, recovering from significant declines seen in the previous session. Investors were evaluating the effects of President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the U.S. presidential race.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by nearly 0.6% by 0716 GMT, following its largest weekly drop of 2024 on Friday.

Most sectoral indexes were up, with construction and materials leading the way with a 0.8% gain. Swiss heating and ventilation company Belimo saw a 12.5% increase in its stock price after raising its sales forecast.

Market participants were considering the ramifications of President Biden's exit from the race, as he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate.

Ryanair's stock plummeted 12.3% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 index following a report of a 46% decline in quarterly profits, falling short of expectations. This drop dragged the travel and leisure sector down by 0.9%.

Conversely, Rentokil Initial surged 11.8% after the Sunday Times reported that former BT chief Philip Jansen is in discussions to acquire the British pest-control company.

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author.