European Shares Rise as Miners Lead Early Gains

(Reuters) – European shares rose on Monday, bouncing from their worst weekly decline since October helped by a rise in shares of miners after an ongoing retail frenzy shifted its attention to silver.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.8%, with shares of miners including Fresnillo, Polymetal International and Boliden AB leading early gains on the index.

Silver 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.

The STOXX 600 had logged declines of over 3% in the previous week, on concerns around the slow roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines and as a retail trading frenzy led to a rise in volatility.

German shares rose 1%. Data showed 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.

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)