European stocks climbed Monday for a third consecutive session, led by mining and energy companies, after metal prices rallied and oil rose to a record.

BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, and Total, the biggest oil refiner in Europe, advanced. Volkswagen led carmakers higher after Goldman Sachs lifted its price estimate for the stock. Clarins and Actelion gained after analysts raised their recommendations on the shares.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index added 2.65 points to 386.60. The Stoxx 50 rose 28.97 points to 3,872.79. The Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the euro region, increased 31.23 points to 4,471.46.

“We’re playing the raw-materials theme in a significant way and it’s paying off,” said Emmanuel Soupre at Neuflize Gestion in Paris. “There’s no reason for a drop in prices. Demand in Asia is furious and it has to be met.”

National benchmarks rose in all 18 western European markets except Iceland. The FTSE 100 in London climbed 44.70 points to 6,706. The CAC 40 in Paris rose 41.32 points to 5,836.19. The DAX in Frankfurt increased 60.50 points to 8,009.67.

Xstrata added 48 pence to £35.76 after one of the world’s largest copper mining companies agreed to buy Jubilee Mines for 3.1 billion Australian dollars to add nickel output in Australia.

Carmakers and oil on rise

Crude oil rose above $93 a barrel for the first time, extending this month’s gain to 16 percent, after Mexico shut down a fifth of its production because of a storm and the dollar fell to a record low. Total gained 64 cents to €56. Neste Oil, the one independent Finnish petroleum refiner, climbed 48 cents to €25.10.

StatoilHydro, the largest oil company in Norway, gained 4.2 kroner to 187 kroner. The company said third-quarter profit climbed 28 percent, lifted by record oil prices and currency gains.

Volkswagen, the biggest automaker in Europe, added €6.90 to €187.63. Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month price estimate for the shares by 30 percent to €240 after the carmaker on Friday reported a bigger increase in third-quarter profit than analysts estimated.

Renault, the French carmaker that owns 44 percent of Nissan, gained after analysts raised their recommendations on Nissan Motor, which last week reported higher operating profit after increasing sales in Russia, China and the Middle East.

Scania, one of the largest truck makers in Sweden, rose 3.5 kronor to 170 kronor. The company said that third-quarter profit jumped 37 percent on higher sales in Russia and eastern Europe.

Actelion, the largest biotechnology company in Switzerland, gained 90 centimes to 55 Swiss francs after ING Wholesale Banking increased its recommendation on the stock to “hold” from “sell.”

Luxury goods hold appeal

Clarins jumped after Exane BNP Paribas raised its recommendation on the French skin cream company that also makes Thierry Mugler perfumes to “outperform” from “neutral.”

“The market does not price in the success of the new aggressive growth plan,” Exane analysts wrote.

Swiss stocks rose for a third day, paced by ABB after Merrill Lynch raised its price estimate for shares of the maker of power networks.

Swiss Reinsurance, the biggest reinsurer, and Cie. Financière Richemont, one of the largest luxury goods makers, also advanced.

The Swiss Market index of the largest and most actively traded companies climbed 44.35 points to 9,007.27. The broader Swiss Performance index added 37.06 to 7,357.

In Spain, Banco Santander climbed 25 cents to €14.63. The lender sold a 2.1 percent stake in Telefónica of Spain to help pay for the purchase of ABN AMRO Holding assets, and made a €2 billion profit from the sale, the newspaper El Mundo reported, citing no one.

The IBEX 35 index advanced 134.20 points to 15,738.10, its highest close, as 21 of its members gained and 13 declined.

“Spanish banking stocks were relatively badly hit by subprime worries,” said Jordi Padilla, head of equities at Atlas Capital in Madrid. “But results are showing that they are still strong, particularly from the point of view of their Latin American businesses.”

Portugal Telecom led advances in Portugal, rising 20 cents to €10.53 euros. Monday was the last day when investors were entitled to shares in PT Multimedia, being spun off by Portugal Telecom.

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