Miners and commodities reach seven month high

On Monday stocks in Europe nudged higher, led by miners, as gains in oil and copper drove a gauge of commodity prices to a seven-month high. The euro weakened and Spanish shares fell after Spain’s government gave Catalonia a new deadline to back down from its independence claim.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index followed gains in benchmarks from Tokyo to Sydney, with basic-resources shares reaching a four-year high. WTI crude climbed above $52 a barrel on concern tensions between Iraqi forces and Kurds will disrupt supplies, while copper surged to the highest since August 2014 on speculation Chinese growth will sustain demand. The pound extended gains as British Prime Minister Theresa May headed for Brussels to intervene in deadlocked exit negotiations.

Meanwhile, tension over North Korea continues to simmer. The U.S. and South Korean navies began a joint drill involving around 40 warships, amid signs North Korea is preparing for another provocation such as a missile launch. North Korea’s state-run media agency KCNA on Saturday criticized the exercise, calling it a “reckless act of war maniacs.”

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.1 percent as of 7:04 a.m. New York time, the highest in more than 16 weeks. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.1 percent. Germany’s DAX Index climbed 0.2 percent to the highest on record. Spain’s IBEX Index decreased 0.7 percent. The MSCI Emerging Market Index jumped 0.4 percent, hitting the highest in more than six years. Futures on the S&P 500 Index increased less than 0.05 percent.

Japan’s Topix index advanced 0.9 percent as of 2 p.m. Tokyo time and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index was little changed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 0.9 percent higher, while the Shanghai Composite Index was steady. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.6 percent to touch its highest level since November 2007.