London - European stocks opened higher on Monday, led by Finnish handset maker Nokia after it settled patent claims with rival HTC.
Shares in Nokia rallied 6.9 percent after what analysts at Credit Suisse describe as a “benchmark win”, which they see as paving the way for future licensing deals and higher revenues for Nokia.
The stock was the top riser on the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which was up 0.3 percent at 1,303.78 points, rising for a third straight session.
The index, up nearly 40 percent since June 2012 was supported by optimism about a global economic recovery, led by developed economies such as Europe and the United States and lower appetite for debt as the Federal Reserve scales back its bond purchase programme.
Justin Haque, a broker at Hobart Capital Markets, said investors have become overly confident about the stock market's ability to withstand the withdrawal of US monetary stimulus and cautioned the recent bounce may be short-lived.
“People are still buying the dips because that's what they have been doing for the past year and a half,” Haque said. - Reuters