LONDON, March 27 — European stocks ended the week close to all-time highs, with miners prominent as investors shrugged off worries about a third wave of coronavirus infections and focused on prospects of a solid global economic recovery.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.8 per cent yesterday, just enough to register its fourth straight weekly rise and seven points short of a record high.

Mining and oil & gas stocks gave the biggest boost to the index, while defensive sectors including healthcare and utilities were slightly down.

Led by chipmakers, notably ASML and ASM International, the STOXX 600 tech index rose 2.7 per cent, posting its biggest weekly gain since early November.

Trading earlier in the week was subdued by worries about new lockdowns and a slow pace of vaccination in the euro zone, but optimism about a stimulus-driven recovery in the United States brightened the outlook for global growth.

“Ultimately  —  you still have abundant fiscal and monetary support as the economies open up,” said Ankit Gheedia, BNP Paribas’ head of equity and derivative strategy for Europe.

Though the market has been driven mainly by third wave concerns and slower vaccinations in continental Europe over the past week, Gheedia sees supply picking up sharply over the next few weeks.

“It’s the best time to be long equities.... with value as a longer-term trade.”

With rising hopes of a strong economic recovery, the world’s largest steelmaker, Arcelormittal, rose 7.4 per cent, while shares in Rio Tinto, Glencore and BHP Group were up between 3.7 per cent and 5 per cent.

UK-listed copper miner Kaz Minerals Plc rose 2.8 per cent after it received a final bid worth £4.02 billion (RM22.9 billion) from Chairman-led Nova Resources.

Morgan Stanley said global equities should slow down but Europe was poised to outperform relative to other markets, as it expects the region’s relative economic momentum to improve over the next 3-6 months.

Shipping company A.P. Moller Maersk rose 5.5 per cent, rebounding after recent losses in the wake of a massive traffic jam caused by a giant container stuck in the Suez Canal, one of the world’s busiest shipping channels.

Spain’s Banco Santander added 2.9 per cent after saying it will offer to buy the 8.3 per cent stake in its Mexican unit it doesn’t already own, strengthening its grip on its Latin American businesses.

Swiss engineering company ABB gained 1.9 per cent after it announced plans to buyback shares worth around US$4.3 billion (RM17.8 billion). — Reuters