European stocks rise ahead of Teresa May's speech on Britain's secession

European shares rose marginally on Friday, extending their gains for a second consecutive session as the impact of strong economic data in the eurozone over renewed tensions over North Korea comes as markets await the speech of British Prime Minister Theresa May on the country's breakaway from the Union European Union.

The Dow Jones Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3 percent by 11:10 GMT, ending yesterday's session up 0.3 percent, boosted by strong gains for banks and financial firms.

The growth of manufacturing activities in France, Germany and the entire euro zone in September accelerated at the highest pace since 2011, and service activities during the same month grew better than expected, according to data released today in Europe.

The data boosted the growth indicators of private companies during the third quarter of this year, and confirmed that the euro-zone economy maintained its strong momentum during the first half of this year.

The banking and financial sectors maintained their strong gains this week thanks to rising US bond yields after hopes of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates for a third time this year.

The mining sector led the worst-performing sector on the Stoxx Europe index, and the sector fell about 1.5 percent after Standard & Poor's downgraded China's biggest metal consumer.

Global geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been renewed after North Korea said on Friday it could test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific in response to US President Donald Trump's remarks that North Korea has been completely destroyed.

Financial markets are expected by 12:15 GMT British Prime Minister Teresa Mae's speech on the country's secession commissioners, media reports said this week that the United Kingdom is ready to pay 20 billion euros (23.92 billion US dollars) for a two-year transitional period after the country's exit from Membership of the European Union.

European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Thursday that time was necessary, especially after six months of the two-year period to reach agreement on conditions before Britain leaves the bloc on March 30, 2019.

The Standard & Poor's 500 futures contract fell 0.3 percent, after the index ended yesterday's session down 0.3 percent, the first loss in five sessions, by correction and profit taking, after yesterday's index reached an all-time high of 2,508.85 points .

The Euro-Stoke 50 rose 0.3 percent. In Germany, the DAX rose 0.2 percent. In France, the CAC 40 index added 0.4 percent. In London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent.