Major stock markets outside the United States ended on Monday.
Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Barclays were all among the top weighted gainers on the FTSEurofirst 300, pushing the broader European banking sector up by 2.5 percent. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 2.29 percent higher at 1,513.27 points, its largest daily percentage gain since May 23 2006.