STOXX 600 hits two-week high, but UniCredit, Commerzbank cap gains
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STOXX 600 up 0.3%
Tomra up as Spain to introduce deposit return scheme in 2 years
UK broadcaster ITV jump after reported bid interest
Kingfisher drops after tightening FY profit outlook
German business sentiment falls in Nov
Updates with latest moves and adds stocks' performances
By Joao Manuel Vicente Mauricio and Ankika Biswas
Nov 25 (Reuters) -Europe's main stock index hit a two-week high on Monday, driven by the nomination of the U.S. Treasury secretary and comments from the ECB chief economist on monetary policy easing, although lenders UniCredit and Commerzbank fell on buyout developments.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX was up 0.3%, as of 0935 GMT, led by luxury stocks .STXLUXP and miners .SXPP.
Italian bank UniCredit CRDI.MI dropped 3.5% after launching a surprise all-share offer worth 10 billion euros ($10.45 billion) for smaller domestic rival Banco BPM BAMI.MI, which climbed 2.6%.
Shares of Commerzbank CBKG.DE fell 5.6%, weighing on the banking index .SX7E, as investors assessed the impact of Unicredit's Banco BPM deal on the German lender's likely buyout offer.
UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel said any Commerzbank bid would come after the Banco BPM deal.
In a boost for global sentiment, Wall Street futures rose alongside a decline in U.S. Treasury yields, following Trump's selection of fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary. Bessent is expected to manage U.S. debt while also focusing on enacting trade tariffs.
"We have a flurry of nominations coming through and everyone's trying to determine what it means for the long term ... there isn't any real sense of how exactly the playing field is going to look in six or 12 months," Capital.com's senior market analyst Daniela Hathorn said.
"There are other things going on, specifically with central banks and how rates are going to evolve."
European Central Bank's chief economist Phillip Lane said the bank's policy should not remain restrictive for too long, while also acknowledging inflation will take some more time to fall back to 2%.
Tomra Systems TOM.OL jumped 7.7%, with analysts citing Spain's plans to introduce a deposit return scheme within two years, boosting the prospects for the Norwegian sustainable technology company's machine sales in key markets.
Vestas VWS.CO rose 4% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the Danish wind turbine maker's stock to "buy" from "hold".
ITV ITV.L climbed 6.6% following media reports that the British broadcaster could be a takeover target for a team led by CVC Capital Partners.
Anglo American AAL.L rose 1.4% on plans to sell its Australian steelmaking coal mines for up to $3.78 billion to Peabody Energy BTU.N.
On the flip side, home improvement retailer Kingfisher KGF.L slumped 13% after lowering the top-end of its annual profit outlook, dragging the retail sector .SXRP.
German business morale fell more than expected in November, adding to the negative outlook for a country poised to be the worst G7 performer this year.
Reporting by Joao Manuel Mauricio in Gdansk and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Sherry Jacob-Phillips
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