European Equities Reach New Highs

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- European equities markets were trading in the green Monday, reaching a new high for the year.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 futures have followed the positive momentum seen in the cash markets and have broken above the 1070.00 area.

The European markets surged after Philips(PHG Quote), one of the largest electronics companies in the world, beat analysts estimations on better consumer sales. Philips surged 6.6%, being Europe's best gainer. The market expected Philips to post a loss, but the company printed a 174 million euro profit in the third quarter.

The gains in Europe were being led by Hollands' AEX and by Germany's DAX, both up 1.3%. It's rare for the German DAX to outperform the other major European indexes because most member companies are seen as blue chips, which tend to move in a more contained fashion. The Eastern European companies were up about 1.5%, the most over the last few cash sessions.

S&P Futures: S&P futures were trading just below the 1075.00 area, the same place where the market made a swing point high on Sept. 23. A break above this level would send the S&P futures to a new high for the current year.

Sector Moves: Even though the rally was triggered by Philips' results, which is a member of the personal & household goods sector, the best performing sector in Europe was automobiles and parts, up 2.2%. Within the sector, the best performing company is France's Renault, which jumped close to 5% after rumors surfaced about joint projects with Russia' AvtoVAZ.

Renault's news created a strong positive momentum in the European carmakers, with Peugeot, BMW and Volkswagen gaining more than 2%. As a note, the automobiles and parts sector was Europe's best gainer over the last week of trading.