Europe Stocks Climb Amid ECB Optimism as Commodity Stocks Rally

---

Gains in miners helped propel European stocks to within 0.1 percent of a six-year high amid bets that the European Central Bank will expand stimulus.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.6 percent to 349.34 at the close of trading in London. Thats its highest level since June 10, and Rio Tinto Group pushed a measure of commodity companies to the biggest gain on the gauge. The gauge has rebounded risen 13 percent from an October low as President Mario Draghi said the ECB may broaden its asset-buying program to include government bonds, while central banks in Japan and China boosted measures to support their economies. The ECB will discuss monetary policy tomorrow.

Speculation has been rising that the ECB may move a step closer to full-scale quantitative easing. That has spurred investors to send money to a fund tracking the regions equities for the first time in five months.

Greeces ASE Index and Spains IBEX 35 Index rose more than 1 percent for the biggest gains among 18 western-European markets. The U.K.s FTSE 100 Index fell 0.4 percent as Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne raised a forecast for U.K. government borrowing.

Source : Bloomberg