Europe rises for second straight session, coronavirus fears ebb gains

European stocks rose today, to extend gains for second straight day, within recovery attempts from three-week low, following US counterparts rebound, but these attempts remain ebbed by the lingering anxiety about the coronavirus outbreak in China.

The pan Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.2% at 11:35 GMT, after it closed higher by 0.8% yesterday, after massive sell-off in the previous day that pushed it to three-week low.

The index opened today's session higher, to extend gains for second straight day, as most of the major European exchanges and sectors rose today.

The banking sector saw the largest gain in Europe today, rising more than 0.8%, as most banks stocks rose in Europe.

The Chinese health authorities confirmed today that 132 people had died from the coronavirus, and infected cases rose to 5,974 victims.

The Chinese President Xi Jinping called for stepping up the determination and unity of the Chinese people, and promised taking measures to confront the spread of the outbreak to win the battle against  the novel coronavirus.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% today, after the index closed higher by 1% yesterday at Wall Street, its first daily gain in 3 days, as investors parse impact of China virus outbreak.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.3%, the German DAX rose 0.1%, France's CAC 40 added by 0.4%, and the UK's FTSE 100 rose by 0.2%.