Europe open: Mining and oil stocks pace gains

European markets started the day on the front foot, with mining and oil stocks figuring prominently among the morning´s best performing sector after Wall Street´s main stockmarket gauge moved closer to its all-time highs overnight.

As of 08:49 BST the pan-European DJ Stoxx 600 was jumping 0.94% or 3.22 points to 345.63, alongside gains of 1.36% to 10,257.15 for Germany´s Dax and an advance of 1.41% to 17,873.25 for Italy´s FTSE Mibtel.

Overnight, the S&P 500 advanced 0.49% to close at 2,109.41, successfully clambering atop technical resistance at the 2,100 point mark.

The DJ Stoxx 600´s gauge for shares of Basic Resource companies was rising 2.17% to 289.17 and the Oil&gas sector sub-index by 1.68% to 278.50.

On Monday evening, Exxon Mobil reported a pipeline failure and spill at its Torrance refinery near Los Angeles. That came close on the heels of news of fresh attacks against the oil sector´s infrastructure in the Niger Delta.

Fed chair Janet Yellen´s speech on Monday evening was also very much on investors’ minds.

Although the US central bank chief sounded an optimistic note on the outlook for America´s economy, her remarks also appreared to preclude an interest rate hike at the Federal Open Market Committee´s next policy meeting on 15 June, and quite plausibly also for July.

"Yellen was much more dovish than in her recent speech, as she did not repeat that a hike 'in the coming months' could be appropriate, which supports our view (and market expectations) that a summer hike is off the table.

"Although Yellen said that she thinks the positive factors are outweighing the negative, she highlighted the downside risks to the economic outlook," analysts at Danske Bank said in a research note sent to clients.

In corporate news, German sportscar-maker Porsche announced first quarter group profits of €661m, mainly as a result of the profits which accruing to it from its stake in Volkswagen AG.

Also in the Automobile sector, Daimler AG announced it would reduce its headcount at three US plants and another in Mexico by 1,240.

German industrial production rose by 0.8% month-on-month in April, according to the country´s Ministry of Economics.
That was better than the 0.7% gain which economists had pencilled in. Both factory and energy output increased by 1.1% month-on-month, with gains in the former led by a 2.2% jump in the production of capital goods.

The foreign trade deficit in France increased from -€4.2bn in March to -€5.2B in April (consensus -€4.5bn).