European stocks rose on Monday after a week of strong performance, driven by increasing bets on interest rate cuts, while Bayer Group recorded its worst daily performance ever, impacting the healthcare sector and the German index. The Stoxx 600 index rose by 0.1% after rising nearly 3% last week. As investors began to factor in the possibility of a 100 basis point rate cut in 2024, with the first cut expected in April, European Central Bank officials tempered this optimism, citing persistent inflation and a somewhat resilient economy.
Energy stocks led gains in the sector index, which rose by 1.3%, following a rise in crude oil prices amid expectations of further production cuts by OPEC+ in the coming weeks. The healthcare sector index fell by 0.4% after Bayer's stock plummeted 18% to a 14-year low. Bayer was also impacted by news that it was ordered to pay $1.56 billion in the latest U.S. lawsuit regarding the widely used herbicide Roundup. The DAX index fell by 0.1%. Additionally, Ashtead Group's stock dropped 10.5% after the British equipment rental company stated that it expects annual profits to be below expectations, along with depreciation charges exceeding $2 billion for this year.
