European stocks moved higher led by miners (MarketWatch) (02-02-2012)

LONDON — European stock rose on Thursday, as the mining sector rallied after Xstrata PLC confirmed it’s in talks with Glencore International PLC about a potential merger.

Shares of Xstrata surged 11% and those of Glencore rallied 4.1%.

Rio Tinto PLC gained 2.3%, Randgold Resources Ltd. climbed 2.1% and BHP Billiton PLC added 1.9%.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index gained 0.2% to 260.13, extending gains into a third consecutive trading session.

The German DAX 30 index rose 0.3% to 6,637.69, and the French CAC 40 index added 0.3% to 3,376.64. The FTSE 100 index had losses of 0.1% at 5,787.79, after several heavyweight companies reported earnings.

Unilever PLC dropped 3.6% after posting a small rise in profit, but giving a cautious outlook for 2012.

AstraZeneca PLC shed 2.8% as the drug maker saw lower profit in the fourth quarter and said it would cut approximately 7,300 jobs, while oil major Royal Dutch Shell PLC fell 2.8% after its earnings missed analyst expectations.

Source: MarketWatch