Grapevine

European markets kick off the new trading week with more positive momentum

A stock trader looks at his monitors in the trading room of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Worries about a new coronavirus mutation in southern Africa have dealt a major blow to the German stock market.

LONDON — European stocks started the new trading week on a positive note, buoyed by gains in Asia overnight and last Friday's rally on Wall Street.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index opened 0.56% higher Monday. Household goods and banks were among the best performing sectors, up 0.28% respectively, with the basic resources and chemicals sectors both down 0.3%.

European stocks looked set to continue the positive sentiment seen at the close of trade last week, with markets getting a boost from the latest U.S. jobs report that exceeded expectations. Nonfarm payrolls data showed the U.S. economy added 254,000 jobs in September, ahead of the 150,000 estimated by economists polled by Dow Jones.