European shares led higher by banks, PostNL soars on rejected bid

[MILAN] European shares rallied in early trade on Monday, underpinned by stronger banking stocks, as Democrat Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House gained new momentum after she averted charges over her use of emails.

By 0814 GMT, the STOXX 600 was up 1 per cent. Last week the pan-European index marked its biggest weekly loss since February on growing uncertaintly over the US vote's outcome.

While no sector was trading in the red, banks rose more than 2 per cent, helped by strong gains in HSBC after the emerging markets-focused bank posted a sharp jump in its core capital, bolstering the outlook for near-term dividend payments.

The top STOXX gainer was PostNL, gaining 5.8 per cent after the Dutch postal company rebuffed a raised takeover offer from Belgian rival Bpost, saying it wished to remain an independent group.

REUTERS