European stocks climb near 21-month high on Brexit extension

The European stocks indices rose slightly today, to maintain their gains for the sixth straight session, near the 21-month high hit in the previous session, following the European Union's decision to postpone the Brexit deadline for additional 3 months until January 31,2020.

Stoxx Europe 600 rose by 0.3% as of 11:12 GMT, while it closed higher by 0.2% on Friday in its fifth straight daily gain and posted a 21-month peak on news about progress in the US-China trade talks.

During the last week, the index gained 1.6%, its third straight weekly gain, on robust earnings reports by major companies during Q3 2019.

The index opened today's session higher, to extend its gains for the sixth session, with most of the major European exchanges and sectors rising.

The automotive sector topped the gainers list in Europe, with a rise of more than 1.3%, with most shares in the sector rising, with positive news coming from the US-China trade talks.

The automotive sector saw the largest gains in Europe, with a rise by more than 1.3%, as most of the sector's stocks rose after news about progress in the US-China trade talks.

The European Council President, Donald Tusk, announced on Monday that the United Kingdom will be able to leave the European Union at any time before January 31, should the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal nailed the parliament's approval.

This new Brexit deadline extension is the third, as it was first scheduled for 29 March to 12 April and then on 31 October.

The British parliament will vote later today on the calls for an early national election on Dec, in attempts to break the long-running political drama around the Brexit deadlock.

The US Trade Representative's Office announced on Friday that the US and China are close to the final parts of the first phase of their trade deal.

S&P 500 futures rose by 0.3%, to hit its all-time record high ahead of Wall Street's opening, as it closed higher by 0.4% on Friday, its third straight daily gain.

To the European stock markets, the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose by 0.1%, with France's CAC 40 rising by 0.1%, and in Germany, the DAX index led the gains among the major European markets as it rose by 0.4%, while in London, the FTSE 100 took the opposite direction and fell by 0.2%