European shares extend gains on stimulus boost

(Reuters) – European shares rose for the fourth straight session on Thursday, as optimism over businesses returning to work and a massive stimulus plan for the European Union outweighed concerns over rising U.S.-China tensions.

The pan-European STOXX 600 <.stoxx> rose 0.6% by 0718 GMT, with travel & leisure <.sxtp>, telecoms <.sxkp> and automakers <.sxap> leading the gains.

The benchmark index has climbed more than 30% from March lows as investors pinned hopes on a gradual recovery with policymakers injecting trillions of dollars in the global economy and drugmakers racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine.

French aerospace companies Airbus and Safran rose 0.5% and 2.2%, respectively, after Boeing Co said it had resumed production of its 737 MAX passenger jet at its Washington plant.

Scandinavian airline SAS slumped 9.1% after reporting a deep loss in the second quarter and said it was in intensive talks with shareholders to tap more funding to help it ride out a collapse in global air travel.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)