By Chiara Albanese And Riva Gold 

Global stocks rose Friday following the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's September meeting Thursday that further reduced investors' expectations for an increase in U.S. interest rates this year.

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.8% Friday midway through the morning session to its highest level in a month, tracking earlier gains in Asian bourses and on Wall Street.

Gains in global markets follow the release of Fed minutes Thursday showing that central bank policy makers decided against raising rates in September amid worries that inflation would remain stuck at ultralow levels. The minutes were taken by investors as a further sign that the central bank will delay increasing rates for its first time since 2006. Low interest rates in the U.S. have buoyed stock markets over the past several years.

"The mood is much more positive," said Darren Ruane, head of fixed interest rates strategy at Investec Wealth & Investment, which oversees about $43 billion in assets. "The timing of U.S. rate hikes may have been pushed out. This has resulted in better risk sentiment."

The pan-Europe index is on track for its largest weekly gain since January. Investec is betting on further gains for European stocks, based on positive growth expectations for the region.

European energy stocks gained 1.7% Friday as oil prices advanced. Brent crude oil prices were last up 0.7% at $53.73 a barrel, propelled by a weaker dollar, trader expectations of shrinking U.S. production and concerns about Russia's involvement in Syria.

U.S. futures pointed to mild losses at the market open, following a rally on Thursday after the release of the Fed minutes that propelled the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its highest level since Aug. 19. Changes in futures aren't necessarily reflected in market moves after the opening bell.

Asian shares joined in the rally on Friday on hopes for an extended period of easy monetary policy. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.5%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 ended up 1.6%, nearing its highest level in almost a month. Australia's S&P ASX 200 was up over 1%, a seven-week high.

In corporate news, shares of commodities trader Glencore PLC were up over 7% in Europe after the firm said it would cut global zinc production following a collapse in the metal's price. The recovery in the share price comes amid a rally for the European basic resources sector, up about 4% Friday.

Investors in the U.S. will reflect on disappointing earnings from aluminum giant Alcoa Inc., which unofficially kicked off the third-quarter earnings season by reporting a sharp drop in profit Thursday.

In currencies, the euro rose 0.3% against the dollar to $1.1316. The dollar rose 0.2% against the yen. The dollar had initially weakened after the release of the Federal Reserve minutes.

Gold was up 0.7% at $1152.00 a troy ounce.

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasurys was flat at 2.098%. Yields rise as prices fall.

Write to Chiara Albanese at chiara.albanese@wsj.com and Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 09, 2015 06:09 ET (10:09 GMT)

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