In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 1 percent higher, with the majority of the sectors trading well above the flat-line. Auto stocks pushed higher, up by more than 3 percent. Volkswagen rose 4.5 percent and Daimler jumped 1.7 percent following a report from Bloomberg that China will halve its car purchase tax. Banks were also among the top performers on the back of strong earnings. HSBC rose 5 percent after reporting a 28 percent increase in pre-tax profit in the third quarter of the year from a year ago.

In Currency Markets the dollar edged higher against the euro, on Monday, close to a 10-week high hit last week, on news German Chancellor Angela Merkel would not seek re-election as head of her CDU party. More broadly, the dollar added to recent gains against other major currencies, supported by robust U.S. consumer spending data on Monday. The euro was 0.28 percent lower against the greenback. The pound inched down to just above two-month lows as traders prepared for the British finance minister’s annual budget speech.

In Commodities Markets oil prices edged lower on Monday as Russia signaled output will remain high, but losses were limited ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iranian exports that are expected to reduce supplies when they come into effect in just under a week. Brent crude futures fell 12 cents to $77.50 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost 30 cents to $67.29 a barrel. Even with U.S. sanctions on Iranian exports due to come into force on Nov. 4, oil prices have fallen about $10 a barrel since four-year highs reached in early October.

In US Equity Markets stocks gained on Monday, helped by relief over Italy maintaining its debt rating, as equities clawed back from a sharp sell off last week. Financials led broad gains among sectors as the benchmark S&P 500 rose more than 1 percent. Shares of software maker Red Hat Inc gave among the biggest boosts to the S&P 500, jumping 45.3 percent after the company agreed to be bought by IBM Corp for $34 billion. IBM shares fell 1.9 percent. The S&P 500 gained 1.31 percent, to 2,693.59 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.88 percent, to 7,230.39.

In Bond Markets German bond yields rose on Monday after Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would not seek re-election as party chairwoman and that her fourth term as chancellor would be her last, while Italian yields fell on relief at an unchanged ratings verdict from S&P. Germany’s benchmark 10-year Bund yield rose 4 basis points to 0.39 percent, above seven-week lows hit last week at around 0.34 percent. Italy’s 10-year bond yield fell to its lowest in almost a month at 3.29 percent, falling further as German bonds sold off.