The French market is higher in early afternoon trading Monday, after upbeat data on consumer sentiment and leading economic indicators boosted investor confidence in the U.S. in the previous session.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is adding 0.14 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is losing 0.06 percent.
The CAC 40 index is currently adding 0.2 percent.
STMicroelectronics is gaining 3.4 percent. JPMorgan reinitiated the stock with an ''Overweight'' rating.
Carmaker Renault is gaining 3.3 percent and speed-train manufacturer Alstom is adding 2.4 percent.
Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas are gaining between 2.2 percent and 1.2 percent.
EDF is gaining 1.2 percent, following a ratings upgrade at Credit Suisse.
Bucking the trend, Veolia Environnement is falling 4.8 percent.
Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is rising 0.5 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 is marginally higher. Switzerland's SMI is adding 0.3 percent.
Across Asia/Pacific, markets ended broadly higher. Australia's All Ordinaries rose 0.5 percent,
China's Shanghai Composite Index added 0.8 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 1.8 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.5 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, stocks rose, as investors cheered upbeat economic reports as well as comments from Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Narayana Kocherlakota, who continued to make the case for an accommodative monetary policy. The Dow gained 0.8 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 added about a percent each.
In the commodity space, crude for June delivery is falling $0.55 to $95.47 per barrel and June gold is declining $12.9 to $1351.8 a troy ounce.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com