European shares inch up, boosted by commodity stocks

European shares saw a slight increase early on Monday, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index rising by 0.1 per cent by 0716 GMT, just below last week’s record highs, according to Reuters.

The gains were led by miners and the oil and gas sectors, which climbed 0.8 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively, as copper prices hit record highs due to China’s property support measures and positive industrial data.

Gold prices also reached new peaks, and crude prices increased amid political uncertainty in major oil-producing countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia.

However, these gains were offset by rising eurozone sovereign bond yields, following warnings from the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve about the uncertainty of the monetary easing path.