Hope in central banks makes up for worries over delta variant

European stocks held near the highs reached earlier in the month on Monday as hopes that continued central bank support would help the economic recovery offset concerns over rising cases of the Delta COVID-19 variant. The UK markets were closed for a public holiday, while the German DAX and French CAC 40 gained around 0.1% in morning trading. The Europe-wide STOXX 600 was unchanged, but was well on its way to ending August with a gain of more than 2% - this would be the seventh month in a row and the longest profit streak in over eight years. Risky assets, including stocks, remained supported after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell explained on Friday why there is no rush to tighten monetary policy and no signal as to when the central bank plans to stop its asset purchases throttle, apart from the statement that it could be "this year". "The gradual process is positive for the equity markets as it is clear that the Fed wants to support the economy as long as necessary to achieve a full recovery," said Willem Sels, chief investment officer of private banking and wealth management at HSBC . "So it's no surprise that the cyclical sectors reacted the most positively to the news." Oil and gas stocks rose 0.2% despite crude oil prices falling from their three-week high after a major hurricane hit the US Gulf Coast, causing hundreds of offshore oil platforms to stall and evacuate. \[O / R\] Automobile manufacturers, tech companies, and retail were among the most important sectors to grow. After reaching record highs in mid-August, European stocks struggled with concerns about tighter regulation of Chinese tech companies and the recurrence of COVID-19 cases that led to new closings in parts of the world. A study has shown that people who have the delta variant of the coronavirus need to be hospitalized twice as often as those infected with the alpha variant. However, the European Central Bank expects the more contagious variant to have limited impact on the eurozone economy due to an advanced vaccination campaign.