(Reuters) – European shares edged higher on Tuesday, supported by a recovery in commodity stocks after a rout in the previous session, with investors weighing mixed signals from European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers on their stance on interest rates.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.2%, hovering near its strongest levels in over two months.
Oil & gas stocks climbed 3%, and were set to recoup all of the losses made on Monday, as crude prices rose after Saudi Arabia’s energy minister denied a report that suggested OPEC+ group was considering an increase in supply. [O/R]
Miners gained 1.4%, after dropping 1.6% on Monday due to worries about surging COVID-19 cases in China.
Meanwhile, ECB policymaker Robert Holzmann backed a third straight 0.75 percentage point rise in the deposit rate for the next rate-setting meeting in December, according to a Financial Times report.
That followed remarks from other ECB officials this week that suggested the central bank could slow its pace of rate hikes.
Among individual stocks, Enel rose 2.5% after Italy’s biggest utility said its plans asset sales worth 21 billion euros ($21.51 billion) to reduce net debt and focus its presence in six core countries.
Prosus slid 3.8% after the Dutch tech investor said it expects earnings for the six months to Sept. 20 to have dropped by at least 79.9% from the same period last year.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
