European stocks rise near 6-week high, HSBC logs strong profits

European stocks rose on Monday, extending gains for gains for the second straight session, rising near a 6-week high thanks to improved sentiment after the release of upbeat Q3 earning reports by major European banks.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.1% as of 11:25 GMT, after closing higher by 0.5% on Friday, and hit the highest since September 7 of 473.32 points.

The pan European index gained 0.5% last week, the third straight weekly gain, thanks to record gains in Wall Street.

The mining sector saw the largest gains in Europe today, with a rise of more than 1.1%, as most dollar-denominated metal prices rose.

HSBC stock rose more than 1.0%, after the bank reported profits that topped analysts' expectations during the third quarter, which jumped 75.8% compared to the same period last year at $5.4 billion.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.3% today, after the index closed lower by 0.1% on Friday, on profit-taking from a record high 4,559.67.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.1%, France's CAC 40 rose less than 0.1%, Germany's DAX index rose 0.3%, and the UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.4%.