Dow rallies more than 400 points to start the week, banks and tech lead; European shares close 2% higher as banks bounce; HSBC soars 9%; BELEX ended Monday with no major change; Projection of Serbian GDP drop in 2020 still 3%, QM says 
Stocks rose sharply on Monday as Wall Street built on strong gains from the previous session amid hope for a new deal on U.S. fiscal stimulus and several corporate deals being struck. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 474 points higher, or 1.8%. The S&P 500 gained 1.8% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.9%. 
Devon Energy and WPX Energy announced they will move forward with a merger of equals, sending their stocks up 12.5% and 17.9%, respectively. Meanwhile, Caesars Entertainment disclosed a cash offer to buy London-based William Hill for 2.9 billion pounds. Shares of the casino operator rose 3.3%. 

European stocks rallied Monday, recovering from their worst week since mid-June, with a global rise in coronavirus cases and political developments stateside on investors’ radar. The pan-European Stoxx 600 jumped 2.3% by the close with banks surging 5% to lead gains, as all sectors and major bourses finished in positive territory. 
HSBC shares surged 9.2% by early afternoon after China’s Ping An Insurance announced that it would increase its stake in Europe’s largest lender. The rally extended across the banking sector, with Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered, Barclays and Credit Agricole all adding more than 5%. 
Reuters reported Sunday, citing sources, that Luxembourg steel giant ArcelorMittal is in talks to merge its U.S. assets with Cleveland-Cliffs, the largest producer of iron ore pellets in the U.S. ArcelorMittal shares rallied 10%. 

BELELX15 was basically flat, as light gain at NIS was neutralized by 6.3% drop on Impol Seval. The most active name was NIS, with RSD 1.6m in turnover – this was over 90% of overall turnover. Bonds were active with EUR 3.5m traded. 
In 2020, Serbia might experience a drop of the GDP by 3%, and although the latest data show that the result could be better, the projection should be kept for now due to the uncertainty related to the epidemic by the end of the year, it was said last Friday during the presentation of the latest issue of the Quarterly Monitor, a publication of the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade and the Foundation for the Advancement of Economics (FREN). 
Source: CNBC, Ilirika