European stocks were propelled higher on Friday as oil majors saw renewed buying interest and mining stocks advanced as analysts pointed to further price hikes for iron ore.
The expiration of September derivatives contracts across Europe and Wall Street known as "triple witching" was relatively calm. One UK-based derivatives trader commented "the event is not the catalyst for volatility that it used to be."
At 3:55pm GMT, the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index, which tracks Europe's 600 largest listed companies, was up 0.6 percent at 241.22. The Dow Jones Euro STOXX Index, which tracks companies in countries that joined the common currency, was 0.7 percent higher at 28.29.
Mining stocks sparkled from the start of trade Friday after Goldman Sachs JB Were said it expects a 20 percent increase in iron ore prices because of persistently strong Chinese steel demand.
Anglo American gained 2.6 percent to £12.96 while Rio Tinto advanced 2.7 percent to £14.48. BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, pushed ahead 3.4 percent to £5.5625 pence, leading gainers in London.
Merger and acquisition news helped create pockets of interest among mid-sized UK retailers. The Big Food Group, which runs the Iceland supermarket chain, jumped 11.3 percent to £1.0275 after it said that it was in takeover talks that would value the company at £378 million (US$673 million).
Among telecommunications stocks, Cable & Wireless was the lead decliner in London for most of Friday's session.
Shares retreated 2.7 percent to £1.07 after it announced plans to invest up to £85 million (US$151 million), in high-speed Internet access over the next two years.
In Paris telecom-equipment maker Alcatel climbed 1.2 percent after it said it would buy US mobile-phone component producer Spatial Wireless for about US$250 million.
Energy stocks gained. Stocks were buoyed by higher crude oil prices as concerns continued over supply disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico due to hurricanes. The Gulf produces roughly 5 percent of the world's total crude oil output.
In Frankfurt, auto stocks were the lead decliners. CSFB downgraded the sector to underweight from market weight ahead of the Paris auto show next week.
It said sales in Europe and the US have deteriorated again during the summer. Europe's largest carmaker, Volkswagen, fell 1.0 percent to US$39.45, leading decliners in Frankfurt.
At the close, London's FTSE-100 Share Index was 0.8 percent higher at 4,591.0, while in Paris the CAC-40 Index was 0.93 percent higher at 3,726.22. Frankfurt's Xetra Dax Index was up 0.61 percent at 3,988.07.
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