European stocks hit 2-week high led by miners

European stocks rose on Thursday, and hit a 2-week high while on track for the second straight daily gain, thanks to improved risk appetite after a drop in the US T-bond yields, while today the mining sector led the gains thanks to Chinese demand hopes.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.9% as of 11:10 GMT, and the highest level since September 27 at 464.82 points, after closing higher by 0.7% yesterday.

The mining sector saw the largest gains in Europe today, with a rise of more than 2.8%, thanks to hopes of strong demand in China.

The 10-year US Treasury yield fell 0.5% today, deepening losses for the third straight day, and pulled back further from a 4-month high of 1.636%, which lifts demand for gold.

The Federal Reserve's meeting minutes showed that the US central bank would start cutting its bond-buying program by mid-November, but monetary policy makers remained divided over the high inflation and the extent of the need for an interest rate hike.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.7% today, after the index closed higher by 0.3% yesterday, its first daily gain in 4 sessions.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.9%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.9%, Germany's DAX index rose 1%, and the UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.9%.