Europe open: Shares rise as Reddit revolution makes silver shine

European shares rose on Monday as the the Reddit retail frenzy turned its attention to silver, within precious metals miners boosted as a result.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.07% a7 9.17 GMT, with shares of miners including Fresnillo, Polymetal International, Boliden, Hochschild and Centamin all shining.

Glencore, BHP and Anglo-American were also higher as silver prices hit their highest levels since 2013. The metal has become the latest focus of a frenzied online movement by retail traders to push up values of assets that big fund managers had bet against.

German shares rose 1% despite official data showing retail sales plunged far more than expected in December as a decision to tighten lockdown measures in the COVID-19 pandemic choked consumer spending in Europe’s largest economy.

Last week's volatility inspired by Reddit forum members boosting GameStop and other heavily shorted company stocks, "raised concerns about the fallout that may come about from well intentioned, but ill-informed political interventions" said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

"The passions being aroused by these events are also causing significant concerns about the wider implications about other areas of the market that might be over-leveraged, as the big unsustainable gains in these vulnerable stocks causes de-risking in other areas of the market.

Oil stocks lagged the market ahead of full year results later this week. BP announced the sale of a 20% stake in its Oman gas block program for $2.6bn as it continued its program of disposals to cut its debt pile towards its longer-term target of $35bn.

Shares in JD Sports jumped 7% after the company announced a conditional agreement to the purchase of Maryland based sportswear retailer DTLR for $495m, as it continues to boost its brand across the US.

Housebuilders were on the rise, with Barratt and Persimmon making strong gains.