European shares boost as strong earnings report boost market sentiment

European stocks saw gains during morning trade on Monday, buoyed by strong earnings updates from Dutch firm Philips, and Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer, which overshadowed concerns about the new lockdown measures implemented across the region.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.8% at 0711 GMT (0311 AM ET), picking up steam after a string of consecutive losses in the previous sessions.

Health technology company Philips gained 3.2% after it reported a strong core earnings report which surpassed expectations.

Meanwhile, Julius Baer jumped by 5.3% after it indicated an improvement in profitability for the first nine months of 2020 as client activity increased and it cut costs.

However, trading was halted in some markets in Europe, including France’s CAC 40, and Amsterdam’s AEX, after it met with technical issues from exchange operator Euronext.