Advancers

Airlines advanced on falling oil prices. German carrier Lufthansa gained 2%, British Airways added 2%. Akzo Nobel, the chemicals and drugs group, gained 1.1% despite a downgrade by ING.

Technology shares also gained. SAP in Germany was one of the early advancers, up 1%. Banks were led higher by Standard Chartered, after reports it was in the running to take over DBS Group of Singapore. Its shares gained 2.6%. French insurer CNP Assurances added 1.8% after its rating was raised by JPMorgan from neutral to overweight.

The steel sector remained in demand after ThyssenKrupp denied weekend press reports that it was considering a counterbid for Corus, the Anglo-Dutch group which has agreed to be purchased by Tata Steel. Shares in Corus gained 0.1% in Amsterdam, while Thyssen climbed 0.2%.

Oil and gold

Oil trade was range-bound on Monday amid market doubts about a decision by OPEC to cut production. December contracts for light sweet crude oil were up 2 cents at $59.35 a barrel on the NYME. Brent crude futures on London ICE exchange shed 1 cent to $59.67.

Gold traded in London at $588.50 per troy ounce, down from $594.30 late Friday.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar was higher against other major currencies in European trading Monday morning. The euro was quoted at $1.2561, down from $1.2620 late Friday in New York. The British pound traded at $1.8744, down from $1.8843. The dollar bought 119.19 Japanese yen, up from 118.65.