Miners eye the best day in nearly three weeks.
Dec 1, Reuters - European stocks rose on Wednesday as bargain hunters returned after a rough November, lifting sectors such as travel, oil and mining that were battered by fears of the Omicron coronaviruses variant that could threaten economic activity.
The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.8% in morning trade, tracking gains in Asian shares and U.S. futures after a sell-off in the previous session.
European equities have been impacted more than global equities on Omicron, as you have more value and cyclical stocks there than in the rest of the world, said Ankit Gheedia, head of equity and derivatives strategy for Europe.
The key data point is the efficacy of current vaccines, which we won't know until the end of next week. I'd expect to see choppy markets based on news flow until then. The STOXX 600 has gone between sharp gains and losses this week, as uncertainty around Omicron has sparked volatile trading. The index ended November with a 2.6% loss after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled on Tuesday that the central bank may speed up the pace of its bond buying taper a few months earlier than expected.
A survey showed manufacturing growth in the euro zone accelerated slightly last month, but supply chain bottlenecks worsened.
According to a Reuters poll, European stocks are expected to be up to new record highs in 2022 due to a recovery in corporate profits.
The poll of 23 fund managers, strategists and brokers predicted that Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 indexes would hit uncharted peaks by mid- 2022, while the STOXX 600 would gain 7% and reach 500 points by July.
The European Union could approve COVID- 19 vaccines tailored to target the new variant in three to four months, the region's drug regulator chief Emer Cooke said on Tuesday.
Miners gained 2.9% after copper prices rebounded on concerns about the Omicron coronaviruses variant, while oil stocks rose 2.4% as crude prices rose ahead of an OPEC meeting.
Husqvarna, the world's biggest maker of power gardening tools, climbed 2.7% after raising its financial targets and growth ambitions for robotic lawn mowers and other battery-powered products.
Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena jumped 11.4% after it said it had begun a dialogue with the Ministry of Economy and Finance to start discussions on its plans to raise capital.
After announcing its divestitures, German property group Adler's shares surged 21.6%.