Europe: Shares recover from 1-week low as trade talks resume

[MILAN] Gain in heavyweight mining and banking stocks helped European shares recover from one-week lows on Monday as investors turned their focus to the start of a new round of trade talks between Beijing and Washington.

The STOXX 600 index was up 0.7 per cent by 0828 GMT, helped by a broad-based bounce, while Germany's trade-sensitive DAX was up 0.6 per cent and the UK's FTSE added 0.7 per cent.

China struck an upbeat note as trade talks resumed with the United States, but also expressed anger at a US Navy mission through the disputed South China Sea, casting a shadow over the prospect for improved ties between them.

The basic resources index rose 0.8 per cent, leading sectoral gainers, as China iron ore prices hit a record on worries that supply from Brazil may fall after a dam accident.

Shares in Glencore, Rio Tinto and BHP were all up around 1 per cent. Banks were also among the biggest sectoral gainers with Banco BPM up 3.3 per cent after the mid-sized Italian lender disclosed capital requirements set by the European Central Bank.

Deutsche Post rose 2.6 per cent on a report saying that Germany is set to grant the postal services firm a higher-than-expected increase in postage for letters from the summer to account for fewer letters sent and for higher costs.

Just Eat rose 1.3 per cent after its shareholder Cat Rock urged the British takeaway ordering website to start merger discussions. Shares in rivals Delivery Hero and Takeaway.com both rose nearly 1 percent.

Among the few fallers was Smith & Nephew, down 2.6 per cent, following a report it has held talks to buy US medical equipment maker NuVasive in a deal that would be worth more than US$3 billion.

REUTERS