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* St Gobain soars after upbeat Q4 forecast
* Miners, oil stocks gain on U.S. stimulus hope
* DeliveryHero slips after new share issuance
(Updates prices throughout, adds comments)
By Amal S and Shreyashi Sanyal
Jan 7 (Reuters) - European stocks climbed for a second
straight session on Thursday as construction stocks gained on
upbeat sales forecast from Saint Gobain and commodity-linked
shares rose on hopes of larger U.S. stimulus after Democrats won
Senate control.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index advanced 0.5% to
near February 2020 highs, while London's blue-chip FTSE 100
gained 0.2% and Germany's DAX index was up
0.6%.
Construction & material stocks were the top gainers,
led by a 2.3% rise in France's Saint Gobain after it
said fourth-quarter results would significantly exceed
expectations.
Meanwhile, economically sensitive sectors such as mining
, energy and industrials extended their rally on
the prospects of more U.S. stimulus after Democrats won control
of the Senate.
"While a Blue Wave could pave the way for stricter
regulations and tax hikes, investors try to see it from a
positive side... and further stimulus measures are likely to
follow and without a months-long stalemate," said Milan
Cutkovic, market analyst at Axi.
Gains in Swedish industrial companies Atlas Copco
, Sandvik and Volvo drove
Stockholm stocks to all-time highs.
"We highlight that Basic Resources, Construction & Materials
have underperformed since the beginning of December and, given
their sensitivity to fiscal policy in general through
infrastructure investment, they have catch up potential,"
Unicredit analysts said in a note.
European wind turbine makers Vestas, Orsted
and Siemens Gamesa all extended gains
from the previous session.
Renewable stocks are widely considered as winners of a Joe
Biden administration, given the U.S. president-elect's proposed
$2 trillion climate plan.
Sentiment was also boosted by European approval for a second
COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna Inc.
Meanwhile, demand for German-made goods defied expectations,
rising 2.3% in November, the latest in a string of data points
showing the Europe's largest economy being unexpectedly
resilient in the face of the pandemic.
Among other movers, LafargeHolcim rose 2.4% after
the world's biggest cement maker said it would buy Firestone
Building Products from Bridgestone Americas in a deal worth $3.4
billon.
Delivery Hero slipped 2.9% after the German food
delivery firm said it raised around 1.2 billion euros ($1.48
billion) by issuing new shares to fund growth.
Mitchells & Butlers dropped 3.2% after the British
pub operator said it was exploring an equity capital raise as a
new national lockdown shut its sites across England.
(Reporting by Amal S and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing
by Sriraj Kalluvila and Nick Zieminski)
