uropean shares sleepwalked their way to a record close on Monday, racking up modest gains against a backdrop of virtual silence. Investors resumed a push into equities, despite a lack of major economic news across Europe, and US traders taking the day off for a national holiday. The pan-European benchmark Stoxx 600 closed at 431.98, rising 0.34pc during the session. Despite thin volumes, there were a few notable shifts: China’s CSI 300 index – a composite index of shares listed in the major financial centres of Shanghai and Shenzhen – rose 2.25pc. It has now recovered all the steep losses it made earlier this month, when markets in the coronavirus-hit country reopened after an extended break for the lunar new year. Capital Economics’s Neil Shearing said it is “all but certain” that China’s economy will contract in the first quarter, but added activity should “rebound relatively quickly” if workplaces reopen soon. The FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.33pc, staying broadly in line with its European peers as a slight softening in the pound eased pressure on international earners. Sterling fizzled slightly, losing some of the momentum it gained at the end of last week on hopes that Rishi Sunak, newly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, will turn on the spending taps when he delivers Britain’s next Budget. The fiscal policy statement is still theoretically due to take place on March 11, but Downing Street has been hesitant to confirm the timings recently, leading to speculation there may be a delay. The currency is caught between hopes the Government will launch a fiscal stimulus, and worries over the uncertain future of Britain’s trading relationship with the EU. Lee Hardman, a currency analyst at Japanese bank MUFG, said expectations for looser fiscal policy had caused the pound to regain some “upwards momentum”, but added the trade situation “casts doubt on the sustainability of recent gains beyond the near term”. Property developer Segro was the biggest faller among London’s blue-chips, dropping 28p to 907p. At the end of last week, the group was downgraded from a “buy” rating to “hold” by Deutsche Bank analysts, who trimmed their valuation of some of its assets following its final results. Also falling was DS Smith, which dropped 7p to 359p after bookmaker William Hill poached the packaging group’s chief financial officer Adrian Marsh. Analysts at Goodbody said the appointment is a sign that William Hill might become “more acquisitive”, pointing to Mr Marsh’s experience with dealmaking and M&A. William Hill’s shares ended the day flat. Ashtead was among the bigger risers on the FTSE 100, closing up 40p at £27.19 after analysts at JP Morgan said the equipment rental group was no longer “simply a hostage to the cycle”, becoming more attractive as a result. They said structural changes at the group had improved it as an investment proposition.