-Diplomacy to avoid escalation in Gaza increases
-Israel says ready to move into Gaza if necessary
-Banks deposited 215.9bn euros overnight at ECB
-Spanish banks' bad loan ratio rose to 10.7 per cent in August from 10.52 per cent

FTSE-100: 0.99%
Dax-30: 1.34%
Cac-40: 1.28%
FTSE-Mibtel 30: 1.28%
Ibex 35: 0.78%
Stoxx 600: 0.93%

European equities have begun the week with a moderate bounce back, in what is to be a holiday shortened week Stateside, due to the Thanksgiving Day celebrations.

Helping markets move higher today is a bevy of positive news. Chief amongst these, over the weekend leading US lawmakers waxed optimistic that a deal on avoiding the fiscal cliff will be reached.

Furthermore, speaking to German broadcaster ARD the country's Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, indicated that an agreement on giving Greece access to the next tranche of aid will be reached tomorrow. As well, and contrary to earlier remarks, "he now appears to be open to adding about EUR 14 billion over the next two years to the funds already committed to Greece, to close the financing gap up to 2014," add economists at Barclays Research.

For her part, International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde has said she will push for a permanent solution to Greece's debts to avoid prolonged uncertainty.

Acting as a backdrop, the latest news reports point to increased diplomatic activity aimed at avoiding an escalation in the recent clashes between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza.

Santander will invest in Spanish "bad bank"

Spain's Santander is planning to invest in the country's so-called "bad bank," which constitutes a positive sign for the country's financial system.

Spanish oil major Repsol hopes to reach an agreement with the Argentinian government regarding compensation for the nationalisation of Repsol's YPF subsidiary, according to published reports on Sunday.

ING is moving up by 2% after the commission extended the company's deadline to sell its insurance businesses.

From a sector stand-point the best performance is now to be seen in the following sectors within the DJ Stoxx 600: Automobiles (1.84%), Technology (1.45%) and Construction&Materials (1.44%).

Foreign orders for Italian goods drop sharply

Italian industrial orders fell by 4% in September (Consensus: -1%), after a decrease of 0.7% in the previous month, led by a 7.4% fall in foreign orders.

Slight rise in single currency

The euro/dollar is now rising by 0.27% to the 1.2777 dollar mark.
Front month Brent crude futures are up by 0.720 to the 109.73 dollar mark on the ICE.

AB

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