EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Close Quarter With Stronger Gain Than U.S.

By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch

European stocks on Monday ended the quarter with a mild gain, capping three months of turmoil on the political and economic front.

Up 0.35% to 393.15 on the day, the Stoxx Europe 600 index has climbed 2.2% for the quarter. The U.S. S&P 500 is up 1.2% over the same period.

European stocks are much cheaper than their U.S. counterparts, reflecting worries about the area's low growth. According to J.P. Morgan data, the Euro Stoxx 50 has a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.6, compared to 18.1 times for S&P 500 components.

Top gainers in Europe for the July-to-September period include telecoms group Altice Europe (ATC.AE) , French supermarket chain Casino Guichard (CO.FR) and U.K. aerospace firm Cobham (COB.LN), each with gains of over 40%.

Losers included software firm Micro Focus International (MCRO.LN) , down 47% over the last three months, U.K. bank CYBG (CYBG.LN) , which has dropped 42%, and steel maker Evraz (EVR.LN) , down 32%.

The German DAX rose 0.38% to 12428.08, the French CAC 40 gained 0.66% to 5677.79 while the U.K. FTSE 100 declined 0.24% to 7408.21.

Attention is turning to U.S.-China trade talks scheduled for October. A Treasury Department spokeswoman over the weekend said there no current plans to block Chinese companies from listing in the U.S., after a published report unsettled markets on Friday.

Read:U.S.-China talks in October won't stop tariff hikes, but more progress could arrive in November, Morgan Stanley says (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-china-talks-in-october-wont-stop-tariff-hikes-but-more-progress-could-arrive-in-november-morgan-stanley-says-2019-09-30)

Whitbread (WTB.LN) shares fell 3.9% as Barclays downgraded the U.K. owner of Premier Inn low cost hotels to equal-weight, with the bank saying the firm's investment case is "muddled."

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (SOBI.SK) slumped nearly 6% after reaching a pact to buy Dova Pharmaceuticals (DOVA) .

Electricite de France (EDF.FR) shares rose 1.9% after the power firm said it will receive about 400 million euros in compensation for closing a nuclear power plant early.

Related: Here's what Goldman Sachs says a Brexit deal would do to British pound, U.K. stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-what-goldman-sachs-says-a-brexit-deal-would-do-to-british-pound-uk-stocks-2019-09-30)

Related:Why JPMorgan says it's time to switch to Europe stocks from U.S (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-jpmorgan-says-its-time-to-switch-to-europe-stocks-from-us-2019-09-30).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 30, 2019 11:46 ET (15:46 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.