European shares end slightly higher as trade worries linger

Gains for metal and mining companies helped European stocks end slightly higher on Thursday, with concerns over an attack on tankers in the Gulf of Oman and continuing US-China trade tensions sapping early enthusiasm among investors.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.16% higher having earlier climbed nearly half a percent aided by surge in telecom and oil stocks.

The basic resources index of commodities-linked companies took the lead as the day wore on, climbing 1.7% as prices of copper and other metals rose.

Italy's FTSE MIB and Germany's DAX index outperformed with a 0.8% and 0.4% rise respectively, while Britain's FTSE 100 was flat.

The surge in oil prices that had dominated morning trading after the tanker attacks faded by the close.

Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers said that he was surprised there hadn't a wider market reaction to the attacks.

"Outside of the oil sector which is responding positively as it should, the rest of the sectors that don't rely on oil or consume oil are shrugging it off," he said.

Europe's benchmark index has risen about 3% this month, reversing roughly half of May's sell-off which was its worst monthly performance in more than two years.

The recovery has come largely on expectations that the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank will take action to impede any slowdown in global growth in the wake of the trade tensions that have plagued markets and major economies over the past year.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday declined to set a deadline for levying addition tariffs on Chinese goods but called the relationship with Beijing 'testy'.

Trade talks broke down in May and China has not confirmed there will be any meeting with US leaders on the sidelines of a G20 summit later this month.

Soft US inflation data on Wednesday raised the number of Federal Reserve rate cuts priced in to the money market to three this year, although some analysts saw that as overdone.

Banking stocks, which tend to suffer when expectations for interest rates fall, closed down slightly.

"What we've seen in the last couple of weeks has been predicated on investors focused on whether the Fed would resume rate cutting. If we go in with such a level of certainty and optimism, the outcome would be potentially disappointing," said Sosnick.

The biggest decliner on STOXX 600 was Aurubis AG, down 8% after Europe's largest copper producer warned on profits and said its CEO would leave the company immediately.

Ferguson Plc led the STOXX 600, jumping 5.9% after Activist fund Trian Fund Management LP said it had built up a 6% stake in the British plumbing products company, days after it reported disappointing results.

Shares of 1&1 Drillisch and parent United Internet , which had boosted the telecoms sector as investors cheered the results of Germany's 5G spectrum auction, finished just marginally higher.