European stocks climb on Fed, miners

Europe's major stock markets advanced Friday after gains across Asia thanks to growing hints that US interest rates will not rise until next year.

Shares in mining companies meanwhile surged after an announcement from Glencore that it will slash zinc production.

The Federal Reserve last month postponed a move to hike US interest rates as it was worried about a global slowdown, concerns over the strong dollar and listless US inflation, minutes from the meeting revealed Thursday.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0.80 percent to stand at 6,425.81 points.

European indices were higher "thanks to another positive US close which spilled over into Asia, extending recent gains as investors add to risky bets on expectations of prolonged easy monetary policy", said Mike van Dulken, head of research at trading group Accendo Markets.

Fed policymakers at their September meeting mulled an increase in the zero-level US federal funds rate but took a cautious approach after a severe bout of financial turmoil unsettled the outlook for the world's biggest economy, the minutes showed.

Also on Thursday, the Bank of England revealed Thursday that it would keep its main interest rate at the record-low 0.5 percent, where it has stood for six-and-a-half years to support growth.

And in minutes of its last meeting, the European Central Bank reiterated its commitment to its bond-buying stimulus programme, while adding that more time was needed to assess the impact of a slowdown in China and other emerging markets.

In the eurozone Friday, Frankfurt's DAX 30 stocks index rallied 1.07 percent compared with Thursday's close to 10,100.07 points and the Paris CAC 40 won 0.86 percent to trade at 4,715.97.

The euro climbed to $1.1353 from $1.1275, with the Fed seemingly not rushing to hike US borrowing costs before the end of the year.

"Rate-setters from the UK to Europe to the US have voiced concerns over the slowdown in emerging markets and the drop in commodity prices," Jasper Lawler, analyst at CMC Markets UK, wrote in a client note Friday.

- Glencore shares shine -

Mining and commodities giant Glencore, weighed down by debt as it struggles against a commodity price crash, announced Friday it is slashing its worldwide output of zinc by one third.

The Swiss-based company said jobs would be lost.

Glencore shares surged 11.6 percent to 134.60 pence, while rivals Anglo American jumped 8.6 percent and Rio Tinto won 3.2 percent.

"A zinc output cut from Glencore drove metal prices higher while dovish Fed minutes caused a drop in the dollar, increasing the value of commodities," said Lawler.

In Asia, stock markets extended a run of gains as confidence returns to trading floors, with most regional exchanges more than one percent higher.

Tokyo jumped 1.64 percent , Sydney ended 1.33 percent higher, while Shanghai climbed 1.27 percent and Hong Kong gained 0.46 percent.

US stocks, which shot up Thursday after the minutes of the Fed meeting were released, opened little changed on Friday.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,068.70 points, a gain of 0.11 percent.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.07 percent to 2,014.94, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.02 percent to 4,809.84.

However, shares in Alcoa shed 2.7 percent as the metals giant reported after markets closed Thursday a 70.4 percent drop in third-quarter earnings to $44 million and trimmed its outlook for key Chinese businesses.