2018.01.2221:39:00UTC+00European Markets Mostly Higher on Dealmaking

European shares ended mostly in the black on Monday, as investors tried to brush off concerns surrounding the government shutdown in the United States. A series of merger activity among European stocks also propelled sharp moves as regional indexes hit fresh records.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.31 percent higher provisionally, while sectors pointed in different directions by the finish.

The majority of indexes ended higher, with France's CAC 40 up 0.28 percent and Germany's DAX up 0.22 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.2 percent, as individual stock news added pressure.

Spain's IBEX, which had been constrained by instability in Catalonia, reached its highest since August, climbing one percent after a ratings upgrade from Fitch that also sent the country's borrowing costs down to six-week lows.

Spain's Santander bank was the biggest single boost to the STOXX 600, leading a rally among financials.

Travel and leisure stocks led declines, finishing down 0.75 percent provisionally, amid reports of a fixed-odds betting limit in Britain. London-listed gambling companies like William Hill and Ladbrokes Coral tumbled to the bottom of the benchmark.

While strong banking and oil stocks supported the market, merger and acquisition news across telecoms, pharmaceuticals and luxury sectors drove the lion's share of big stock moves.

Orange and Deutsche Telekom advanced 2.1 percent each after a report in French daily Le Monde said the two companies had held merger talks last year.

French drugmaker Sanofi dropped 2.9 percent after the company announced a $11.6 billion takeover of U.S. hemophilia treatment specialist Bioverativ, with some traders saying the deal looked expensive.