Europe: Stocks rebound at open

[LONDON] Europe's stock markets rebounded in opening deals on Monday as some of the world's worst-hit countries reported falling death rates from the novel coronavirus.

In initial deals, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of major blue-chip companies was up 2.5 per cent to 5,552.32 points compared with Friday's closing level.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX jumped 3.9 per cent to 9,896.66 points and the Paris CAC 40 leapt 3.4 per cent to 4,295.46.

Milan's FTSE Mib added 3.3 per cent to 16,925.05 and Madrid's IBEX 3 rallied 3.0 per cent to 6,777.50 points.

"European markets are trading higher because investors are shrugging off the pessimism," said AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam.

"They are focused on more optimistic things: the slowing death rate caused by coronavirus. Italy, Spain, France, and Germany have all seen declining numbers."

AFP