European stocks kick off busy week with gains

European stock markets mostly rose Monday with traders assessing company earnings and looking ahead to an ECB rate decision and UK budget later in the week.

Asian markets closed mixed following last week's gains, with investors keeping a worried eye on a fresh Covid outbreak in China that could drag on the already stuttering economy.

Oil prices pressed higher, with Brent at a three-year high above $86 per barrel, while WTI was within sight of $85 for the first time since October 2014.

The latest rises for crude comes after Saudi Arabia said OPEC and other major producers would be cautious in lifting output despite surging demand, warning that the pandemic still posed a threat to the outlook.

In foreign exchange, Turkey's lira tumbled more than one percent to a record low against the dollar after country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the expulsion of ambassadors from 10 countries, including Germany and the United States, who had appealed for the release of a jailed civil society leader.

The euro dropped with data showing Germany's business climate worsened in October for the fourth month in a row, as supply chain woes weighed on the country's export-driven economy.

European Central Bank policymakers meet on Thursday, with markets hoping for hints on when the ECB may start raising interest rates or taper its massive pandemic-fuelled stimulus programme.

In Britain, the country's government unveils its latest tax and spend plans on Wednesday.

Earnings updates

Long-running worries about inflation meanwhile continued to cast a shadow over trading floors, though a healthy batch of earnings has tempered those concerns in the past couple of weeks.

HSBC bank posted bumper earnings and plans to buy back shares.

US tech titans including Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft provide their own earnings updates this week, which will be closely followed for an idea about what impact supply chain snarls and rising prices are having on their bottom lines.

Their forward guidance will also be of interest as businesses contemplate tighter central bank monetary policies.

News that troubled China Evergrande had paid interest due on a bond before Saturday's deadline provided a much-needed boost to market confidence, though it remains to be seen whether the property developer can meet obligations on other notes due before the end of the year.