European stocks close at record as Glencore jumps on Rio Tinto interest

European shares ended Friday at a record high, powered by a surge ⁠in Glencore that helped put the STOXX 600 on its longest weekly winning streak since May.

After two straight losing sessions, the rebound underscored investors' resilience, even as a run of weak earnings and renewed geopolitical tensions, sparked by U.S. ‌actions in Venezuela, ‌weighed on sentiment. Glencore jumped 10%, while Rio Tinto fell 2.6%. Rio said on Thursday it was in early talks to buy Glencore, a ‌deal that would create the world's largest mining company.

The gains in Glencore helped the STOXX 600 index climb 1%.

TSMC RESULTS BOOST CHIPS OUTLOOK

Technology stocks led the advance in the STOXX 600 on the day and logged their best week in nearly two years.

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML added 6.8% and was the biggest gainer in the tech index after HSBC raised its price target on the stock.

Germany's Infineon rose 2.4%, while STMicroelectronics added 2.9%.

Tech shares also got ‌a boost after ‍upbeat fourth-quarter results from TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker.

Shares in Anglo American ‍rose 2.7%, a day after a filing from the European Commission showed ‌that the miner's deal with Canada's Teck Resources is heading for antitrust clearance in Europe.

Defence stocks led weekly advances, with a near 10% gain - their best showing since November 2020 - after U.S. President Donald Trump called for higher defence spending.

Global market sentiment also got a lift as investors took a fresh pulse check on the U.S. labour market - an increasingly important gauge for the Federal Reserve and for appetite toward riskier assets.

The latest non-farm payrolls report pointed to cooling job ‍growth, but a dip in the unemployment rate reinforced expectations that the Fed will hold rates steady at its January meeting.

"The bulk of the U.S. economy ‍is trimming employment, which ⁠points to further work ⁠for the Federal Reserve. Nonetheless, the dip in unemployment and a likely 'hot' inflation print next week suggests no action before March," James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, said.

The retail rout carried on from the previous session. Pandora warned of weaker 2025 sales growth, sending shares of the jewellery maker down 13%.

Sainsbury's reported a fall in general merchandise and clothing sales for the Christmas quarter, with the supermarket group's shares falling 5.3%.

On the trade front, European Union member states confirmed a broad majority of them support a planned free trade agreement with South American bloc Mercosur.