European Stocks Mainly Higher as Spanish PM Vows to Maintain National Unity

European equity benchmarks were modestly higher in early trade on Monday after Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy insisted that his country would not be divided in the face of a secessionist challenge in the semi-autonomous region of Catalonia, and as oil prices edged forward.

Spain, the fourth largest economy in the Eurozone, is in the midst of a constitutional crisis after a referendum deemed illegal by the country's highest court, was held in Catalonia eight days ago. Less than half the population eligible to vote turned out with those that did, approximately 43%, voting overwhelming in favor of independence. What happens in Spain stands to have ramifications for several other countries in the Eurozone which also have regions with separatist movements.

In an interview with the Spanish newspaper 'El Pais' on Sunday, Rajoy described the secessionist challenge from Catalonia's president as "Europe's battle" while insisting that the country would not be split up: "Spain is not going to divide and national unity will be maintained," he was cited as saying by the publication. Catalonia's regional president, Carles Puigdemont, has previously indicated that he could declare Catalonia independent within days. The resulting uncertainty in Catalonia, has led to in a number of banks and companies taking measures to relocate their headquarters and legal bases to outside of the region. The headquarters of the region's two largest banks, CaixaBank and Banco de Sabadell are understood to be being moved to the cities of Valencia and Alicante, respectively, according to reports, and large demonstrations in favor of Catalonia remaining part of Spain took place in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, over the weekend as well as in other cities across Spain.

In economic news, German industrial output expanded by more than expected in the month of August, according to data published by the nation's economy ministry. Output rose by 2.6% in August when compared to July, surpassing the average estimate of analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal for 0.9%. Oil prices, meanwhile, were modestly higher with West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures 0.5% higher at $49.52 per barrel while Brent crude, the international gauge, was 0.1% higher at $55.66 per barrel in recent trade.

In equities, copper mining company Antofagasta was leading the decliners on London's FTSE 100 Index, down by 0.9% recently, supermarket chain Tesco was down by 0.8% and miner Rio Tinto was also 0.8% lower. Smith & Nephew, a medical technology company, was 0.7% lower.

On Frankfurt's DAX, electricity distribution company RWE was 1.7% higher, trading platform Deutsche Boerse was up by 1.1% and E.on was 1.0% higher. Commerzbank was 0.7% higher and automobile manufacturer Volkswagen was 0.1% higher. And, on Paris' CAC-40, designer goods retailer Kering was 1.3% higher, wines and spirits producer Pernod Ricard was up by 1.1%, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, a retailer of luxury goods, was 0.9% higher and oilfield services company TechnipFMC was 1.1% higher. Danone, a food producer, was also up by 1.1%.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index was 0.23% higher, London's FTSE 100 Index was down by 0.07%, Frankfurt's DAX was up by 0.19%, Paris' CAC-40 was 0.06% higher and Spain's IBEX 35 was 0.82% higher at the time of writing.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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