European stocks maintain gains ahead of US stimulus plan

European stocks rose on Thursday, extending gains for the second straight session, rising near 11-month highs amid improved market sentiment after the release of strong data in China and ahead of Joe Biden's reveal of a huge stimulus plan.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.3% as of 11:15 GMT, after it closed higher by 0.1% yesterday after profit-taking stopped from an 11-month high of 411.92 points.

The pan European index opened higher today, extending gains for the second straight session, with most of the major European markets and sectors seeing green.

The automotive sector saw the largest gains in Europe today, rising more than 2%, on hopes of economic recovery in China.

China's General Customs Administration showed on Thursday that exports jumped 18.1% in December, beating forecasts of 15%.

Investors are parsing the recent developments regarding the coronavirus crisis in the region, with some European governments plans to speed up their vaccination campaigns.

US President-elect "Joe Biden" unveils later today a plan of "trillions" of dollars for relief from the Corona virus, and "CNN" News reported that the new package will be about 2 trillion US dollars.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.2%, after the index closed higher by 0.2% yesterday at Wall Street, as profit-taking stopped from its record high of 3,826.69 points.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.4%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.2%, the UK's FTSE 100 added 0.7%, and Germany DAX index rose 0.3%.