European shares advance ahead of central bank meetings

European shares rose on Monday, rebounding from their worst week in more than two months, as investors looked forward to the UK and European central bank meetings amid worries over policy tightening, soaring inflation and geopolitical tensions.

The pan-European STOXX 600 added 0.9%, with tech stocks climbing 2% after dropping 13% so far this month.

Vodafone (LON:VOD) gained 2.8% after saying it would work with Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and other silicon vendors on designing its own chip architecture to drive innovation and efficiency in nascent OpenRAN network technology.

The largest telecom provider in the Netherlands, KPN, added 1.1% after announcing a new share buyback programme and a higher dividend over 2022, as its core profit rose on the back of growing mobile revenues.

Ryanair (LON:RYA) dropped 1.1% after posting a loss of 96 million euros ($107 million) for the final three months of 2021, with Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary saying the outlook remained hugely uncertain.

Italian energy services group Saipem plunged 27% after issuing a profit warning and withdrawing an outlook given in October, citing a deterioration in margins due to the pandemic and higher raw material costs.

European shares advance ahead of central bank meetings