European stocks rose closer to a record as BG Group jumped after Royal Dutch Shell agreed to buy it.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.2 per cent to 405.05 at 8.41am in London.

The benchmark measure briefly climbed intraday to match a closing record reached in 2000. BG jumped 38 per cent after Shell agreed to buy it for £47 billion (€64 billion) in cash and stock.

The Stoxx 600 climbed 1.6 per cent on Tuesday amid optimism central banks will support the global economy. The gauge has rallied 18 per cent this year amid quantitative-easing measures by the European Central Bank.

The Federal Reserve publishes minutes from its latest meeting after European markets close.

The central bank said after the meeting that US growth has moderated. Economic reports including those on payrolls, retail sales and manufacturing have missed projections this year.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said she expects to raise rates this year, and that increases will be data dependent.

A report today showed German factory orders unexpectedly fell for a second month in February.

Gains in BG pushed a gauge of oil and gas shares to its biggest gain since 2009. Peers Tullow Oil and Genel Energy jumped more than 6 per cent.

Shell fell 1.8 per cent. BG jumped the most in six years on Tuesday before takeover talks were reported, and bullish options volume increased.

An index of auto companies posted the worst drop among 19 industry groups. Bayerische Motoren Werke and PSA Peugeot Citroen lost more than 2 per cent.

Bloomberg