European stocks reach record highs as Glencore leaps on Rio Tinto's interest
European shares reached a record high on Friday, boosted by an 8.3% increase in Glencore. This put the 'STOXX 600 index on course for its longest winning streak since last May.
After two sessions of losses the rebound shows that investors are resilient, despite weak earnings reports, and geopolitical tensions caused by U.S. action in Venezuela. Glencore shares reached their highest level since July 2024. Rio Tinto's share price fell by 2.6%. Rio Tinto said that it was in the early stages of talks with Glencore to create the largest mining company in the world.
Glencore's gains helped to boost the STOXX 600 Index by 0.4% at 0938 GMT.
Morningstar's Chief Equity Strategist Michael Field, however, said that some skepticism is still necessary.
We've seen it?before, where deal discussions in this industry linger for months before?falling apart. He said that people tend to overestimate the benefits of mergers, and this usually becomes apparent after a few weeks of due diligence.
TSMC RESULTS IMPROVE CHIPS OUTLOOK
The STOXX 600 index rose 1.8% in total, with gains of 1.7%, 1.6% and 1.8% respectively.
ASML, a Dutch chip maker, gained 3.9% after HSBC increased its price target.
Infineon, a German company, rose by 1.3% while STMicroelectronics grew by 1%.
Tech shares were also boosted by the positive fourth-quarter results?of TSMC, which is the largest contract chipmaker in the world.
Anglo American shares rose 2.4% a day following a filing from the European Commission that showed the deal between the miner and Canada's Teck Resources was heading towards antitrust clearance in Europe.
Investors are waiting for the U.S. jobs data on Friday. It is expected to show a slowdown of job growth due to caution from businesses.
Separately the U.S. Supreme Court will?issue a ruling regarding the legality President Donald Trump’s global tariffs.
The ruling could have a significant impact. Morningstar's Field stated that he expects the U.S. government to find a legal workaround, even if tariffs are found illegal by the Court. (Reporting and editing by Nivedita Battacharjee in Bengaluru, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Nivedita Nishant)
(source: Reuters)
