Even though U.K. growth data was weak, European stock markets went up on Monday. This was because Ukrainian troops took over a lot of territory over the weekend.
At 3:50 ET (07:50 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany went up 1.4%, the CAC 40 futures contract in France went up 0.9%, and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. went up 1%.
General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the chief commander of Ukraine, said on Sunday that his country has retaken more than 3,000 sq km (1,160 sq miles) of land this month. Most of this land was taken back thanks to a quick weekend offensive that forced Russia to leave its main logistics hub in the Kharkiv region.
Related: When European stocks open, banks give them a boost.
After being stuck for months, these quick moves will give the markets time to think about the range of possible outcomes. Long-term attrition is still a possibility, but so is an end to the conflict sooner than expected.
European markets ended last week with good gains, and September started off on a good note. This trend has continued into Monday, even though disappointing U.K. growth data showed that the region is having economic problems right now.
Gross domestic product in the UK grew by 0.2% from June to July, which was less than the expected growth of 0.3%. In the three months leading up to July, GDP was flat compared to the three months before.
Last month, the Bank of England said that Britain would go into a recession at the end of 2022 and not get out of it until the beginning of 2024.
In business news, Electrolux (ST:ELUXb) stock dropped 3.3% after Europe’s biggest home appliance maker said it would start a cost-cutting programme. This was because demand was lower than expected, earnings were low, and inflation was high.
Philips (AS:PHG) stock went up 1.5%, even though the Dutch press said that the shareholders association VEB is threatening to sue the conglomerate over how it handled a worldwide recall of respiratory machines.
Swiss Re (SIX:SRENH) stock went up 1% after the reinsurer said that global geopolitical tensions, changes in the macroeconomy, and climate change have increased the need for risk protection and will cause premiums to go up.
Oil prices were stable on Monday, after having their lowest weekly close in seven months on Friday. This happened as traders weighed the effects of aggressively tightening monetary policy and China’s COVID-19 curbs.
Related: European stock futures are going up; the offensive in Ukraine helps set a tone.
Last week, trade data showed that China’s oil imports slowed down a lot in August because of COVID-related problems in the economy. This makes people worry that the biggest importer in the world will lose a lot of demand as the year goes on.
By 3:50 ET (07:50 GMT), U.S. crude futures were down 0.1% to $86.75 per barrel, while the Brent contract was up 0.1% to $92.93.
Also, gold futures went up 0.4% to $1,734.80/oz and EUR/USD went up 1.4% to 1.0181.
