The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 1.3 per cent to its highest since late February 2020, with Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Anglo American bolstering the index as copper prices leapt to a more than eight-year high. — Reuters picFRANKFURT, Feb 16 ― European shares ended at a near one-year high yesterday as major resource stocks benefited from expectations of a swift economic recovery, while Vivendi led gains on its planned capital distribution from Universal Music.
Banks and energy stocks also climbed as a so-called “recovery trade” sparked demand for sectors that had underperformed the broader index following early 2020's coronavirus-driven crash. Vivendi SE topped the STOXX 600 with a 19.6 per cent jump after the French conglomerate said it intended to distribute 60 per cent of Universal Music's capital to investors.Anticipation of more US stimulus measures was bolstered after President Joe Biden on Friday turned to a bipartisan group of local officials for help on his US$1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan.
A recent Reuters poll found the euro zone economy was in a double-dip recession and that economists now expect GDP to contract 0.8 per cent in the first quarter, reversing an earlier forecast for growth of 0.6 per cent.