(Reuters) – European shares gained in early trading on Thursday as a relentless rally in commodity prices boosted mining and oil stocks, despite concerns about the overall impact of mounting sanctions against Russia.
The Europe-wide STOXX 600 index had gained 0.6% by 0819 GMT.
Asian shares steadied following a Wall Street bounce overnight on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments that assuaged concerns about aggressive interest rate hikes.
Europe’s oil & gas sector jumped 1.9% to a fresh two-year high as Brent rose above $118 a barrel with sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine sparking supply worries.
[O/R]
The mining index rallied 3.4% to a new 13-year peak as aluminium prices climbed to an all-time high, while nickel surged to its highest in 11 years. [MET/L]
Banks also edged back up 1.4% after suffering sharp falls earlier this week.
Among individual stocks, the London Stock Exchange Group gained 9.4% after it said applying financial sanctions on Russia would have only a minor impact on its business.
Germany’s Lufthansa slipped 3.9% after the airline said it could not provide a detailed outlook for 2022 due to the war in Ukraine and the pandemic.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
