Commodity gains push European stocks to one-week high

European stocks rose on Friday, helped by gains in commodity-linked companies as investors balanced worries about surging coronavirus cases with the prospect of a strong US economic recovery.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.8 per cent in early morning trading, hitting a one-week high. The benchmark was on course for its fourth straight weekly rise.

Mining and oil & gas stocks were the top gainers in Europe, up 2.1 per cent and 1.8 per cent, helped by higher commodity prices.

In Dublin, the Iseq was up just 0.3 per cent with banks leading the way.

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UK-listed copper miner Kaz Minerals rose 2.9 per cent after it received a final bid worth £4.02 billion from chairman-led Nova Resources.

Market sentiment, for most part of the week, was weighed down by worries about new lockdowns and a slow pace of vaccination in the euro zone, but optimism about a stimulus-driven recovery in the United States brightened the outlook for global growth.

British insurer Aviva was up 2.1 per cent after it sold its Polish operations to Germany's Allianz for €2.5 billion in cash. Allianz gained 1.3 per cent.

- Reuters