On Friday, European stocks rose for a fourth day, extending the biggest weekly advance in a year for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, as confidence in the economic recovery strengthened. Asian shares gained, while US index futures were little changed.

Rio Tinto Group led a gauge of mining companies higher as metal prices rose and Citigroup Inc. recommended Antofagasta plc. Infineon Technologies AG gained 1.6 per cent on a report the semiconductor maker is close to selling its mobile-chip unit to Intel Corp.

European shares extended a rally into a fourth session, after Wall Street was boosted by falling jobless claims and solid sales from a handful of large retailers.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.3 per cent, after rising 5.1 per cent in the previous three sessions, and on track for its biggest weekly gain in nearly a year. But the index is still down more than 8 per cent from a mid-April peak, on worries about debt levels in Europe and slowing economic growth.

In a broad rally, the heavyweight banking sector was among the gainers, with the STOXX Europe 600 banking index up 0.8 per cent. Miners rose, with the price of copper and other metals gaining, as the euro held near a two-month high against the dollar.

Across Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1 per cent; Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC40 were up 0.5 and 0.4 per cent respectively.

Japanese stocks rose, driving the Nikkei 225 Stock Average to its biggest weekly gain this year, after a drop in US jobless claims stoked optimism in the global economy. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.5 per cent at the close of trading in Tokyo, reversing a 0.2 per cent drop. The broader Topix index was little changed.