European stocks continued their positive start to the new year on Monday after strong gains on the Swiss exchange helped drive the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index higher.
Swiss stocks rallied on the first day of 2009 trading in Zurich, catching up with similar gains seen across Europe on Friday, when the Swiss Market index was closed for the holiday period. The SMI closed 4 per cent higher at 5,756.09 points.
