LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - European stocks started the week on the front foot following the very volatile trading conditions seen over the preceding five-day stretch.
Optimism regarding the Covid-19 situation in China and more hawkish remarks from European Central Bank boss, Christine Lagarde, boosted Basic Resources and Banks, respectively.

Worth noting, some of the previous week's losses may have been the result of traders bringing forward some selling ahead of the long Memorial Day holiday in the States.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 1.26% at 436.54, alongside a 1.38% jump on the German Dax to 14,175.40 while the Cac-30 put on 1.17% to 6,358.74.

The Stoxx 600 sector gauge for Basic Resources added 2.33% and that for Banks was ahead by 2.03%.

Further buoying the former was news hat US President, Joe Biden, was planning to discuss US trade tariffs on Chinese imports with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen upon his return from a trip to Asia.

Euro/dollar, longer-term government bond yields and crude all ended higher, while natural gas futures retreated.

Aiding the single currency and bond yields, in a post on the ECB's blog, Lagarde all but pre-announced that the lift-off for interest rates would come in July and that deposit rates cease to be negative by the end of September.

Germany's IFO business sentiment index unexpectedly improved in May.

The business climate index increased to 93.0 from 91.9 in April, coming in above expectations for a reading of 91.4.

Siemens Energy had offered to buy all outstanding shares of renewables firm Siemens Gamesa for €4.06bn, sending the latter's shares up by over 6%.

Shares in drug maker Idorsia were also up after its blood pressure drug reported positive trial results.

Kingfisher shares rose after the B&Q owner unveiled a surprise £300m share buyback alongside Q1 results showing a rise in like-for-like sales over pre-pandemic levels.

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