LONDON — European stocks closed higher Monday as global markets reacted to the news that U.S. President Joe Biden had dropped out of the U.S. presidential race.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 1% higher, with only travel and leisure, and retail stocks in negative territory, down 2.33% and 0.03% respectively.
Ryanair shares fell more than 17% on Monday after the company said its quarterly profit after tax had fallen 46% in the three months to the end of June, and fares will be lower than expected in the summer months.
Global traders are watching the U.S. political landscape closely after Biden dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
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The move was broadly expected after Biden's poor debate performance in June and amid polls showing the increasing likelihood of an election win by former President Donald Trump in November.
U.S. stocks opened higher Monday. The S&P 500 rose after the broad market index suffered its worst weekly losses since April last week as investors rotated out of megacap technology stocks for smaller names.
Money Report
Asia-Pacific markets fell overnight, while China's central bank unexpectedly cut rates, with the short-term 7-day reverse repurchase rate lowered to 1.7% from 1.8%.
Earnings come from Ryanair Monday, and data releases include the latest Spanish consumer confidence figures.
