Europe open: Shares higher on strong US, UK data

European shares opened higher at the start of the week’s final session, driven by a positive Wall Street and hopes of a strong US recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.72% in early trade with all regional bourses higher. Investors reacted positively to better-than-expected weekly jobless claims and accelerating vaccinations in the US.

There was an added boost as UK retail sales also came in above expectations. Retail sales rose 2.1% on the month in February, in line with consensus expectations and compared to an 8.2% slump the month before.

In equity news, shares in UK insurer Aviva rose after the company sold its Polish unit to Allianz for €2.4bn. Allianz shares were also higher.

London-listed copper miner Kaz Minerals rose 2.9% after it received a final bid worth £4.02bn from Nova Resources.

Miners rose on higher metals prices while oil giants Shell and BP were on the rise as oil prices pushed up on concerns that a ship blocking the Suez Canal could squeeze crude supplies.