European Shares Follow Asian Peers Higher; Banks Outperform

(RTTNews) - European shares posted strong gains for the second day running on Monday, as weak trade data out of China and sluggish Japanese GDP data boosted hopes for extra stimulus.

Asian shares snapped a five-session losing streak, China's yuan hit a 2016 high, the yen weakened against its major rivals in Asian deals and gold prices fell more than 2 percent, underscoring a shift in investors' sentiment towards riskier assets.

Japan's Nikkei index soared 1,069.97 points or 7.16 percent to 16,022.58 on a weaker yen after losing nearly 13 percent between February 1 and February 12.

Closer home, the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 2.8 percent in early trade after climbing 2.9 percent to rebound from its lowest level in over 2 years on Friday. Elsewhere, the German DAX, France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were up 2-3 percent.

Banks Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse and Societe Generale climbed 2-6 percent on reports that the European Central Bank is mulling buying re-bundled non-performing loans of Italian banks as part of its asset-purchase program.

Commodity-related stocks traded mixed, with oil giant BP rising half a percent and miner Anglo American climbing 4 percent in London while BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto dropped 1-2 percent.

BAE Systems rose 2.3 percent. The defense company is reportedly set to name Charles Woodburn as chief operating officer, putting him in line to eventually replace Chief Executive Ian King.

Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser Group jumped 6 percent after reporting a marginal rise in its fiscal 2015 profit before income tax.

Telecoms group Orange climbed 3 percent in Paris on the buzz concerning its potential merger with Bouygues Telecom.

Energy giant Total advanced 2.8 percent after oil prices gained more than 10 percent on Friday.

Hennes & Mauritz shares jumped 3 percent in Stockholm as the Swedish retailer reported a 7 percent increase in January sales including value added tax in local currencies.