European shares buoyed by US manufacturing data

European shares moved higher on the back of encouraging US manufacturing figures and robust results from oil giant ExxonMobil.

European shares moved higher on Monday on the back of encouraging US manufacturing figures and robust results from oil giant ExxonMobil, traders said.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares gained 1.14 percent to close at 5,247.41 points.

In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 was up 0.81 percent at 5,654.48 points while in Paris the CAC 40 added 0.60 percent to finish at 3,762.01 points.

European stocks had opened mixed but rose later in the day after the publication of a report showing that the US manufacturing sector kicked off the year with gusto in January, expanding for the sixth consecutive month.

The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index, also known as the purchasing managers index, climbed to 58.4 percent in January from December from 54.9 percent in December.

It was the highest PMI reading since August 2004 and eclipsed market expectations. Any number above 50 percent indicates growth.

The markets also got a boost from strong results from oil giant ExxonMobil, which beat most forecasts with a quarterly profit of 6.05 billion dollars, helped by higher oil production and prices.

- European markets gained almost one percent today to post a second straight day of gains after investor confidence was boosted by better than expected earnings from Exxon Mobil and strong ISM manufacturing data - said Nick Serff, market analyst at City Index.

Elsewhere in Europe, shares finished 0.53 percent higher in Milan, rose 0.86 percent in Zurich and gained 0.43 percent in Madrid.

In Tokyo, stocks ended mixed as the auto sector remained under pressure following safety recalls by Toyota and its Japanese rival Honda.

Shanghai and Australia stock markets were meanwhile hit Monday by fears Beijing will take measures to slow growth, traders said.

Chinese shares closed down 1.60 percent as sentiment remained weak over concerns of further loan restrictions later in the year.

Wall Street stocks had slumped Friday on persistent concerns over economic recovery, erasing early gains that followed data showing stronger-than-expected US growth in the final quarter of last year.

But US stocks charged higher early Monday as Wall Street kicked off a new month energised by strong results from oil giant ExxonMobil and encouraging manufacturing data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 0.92 percent higher, as stocks bounced back from a rocky week and losses for the month of January. The Nasdaq composite advanced 0.71 percent while the Standard & Poor's 500 index added 1.13 percent.