European shares edge higher, Dax hits new all-time high

LONDON – 9 October 2017: European shares opened slightly higher on Monday after four consecutive weeks of gains, with Germany’s Dax touching a fresh new high, as worries about the situation in Catalonia eased off after Sunday’s demonstration against independence.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.2 percent in early trading while the was up 0.3 percent to a new record of 12,997 points.

Spain’s IBEX rebounded 1 percent with Caixabank spiking 2 percent after its board agreed to move its registered office to Valencia‍.

A slight rebound for the pound, which has been suffering over the weekend on Theresa May’s struggle to maintain authority over her cabinet, weighed on the FTSE, which was down 0.1 percent.

Credit Agricole declined 0.8 percent after its CEO indicated it would join the queue of potential suitors for Commerzbank, up 0.9 percent, should the German government want to sell its stake. Commerzbank was up 0.6 percent.

Airbus was the top loser in France, down 1.5 percent after its CEO told employees to brace themselves as a corruption probe could lead to large corporate penalties.