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April 19 (Reuters) - European stocks inched higher on Monday, extending their record-setting rally, as optimism about a solid start to the earnings season offset a worrying resurgence in COVID-19 cases globally.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.1% by 0706 GMT, its fifth day of gains, while an index of euro zone shares .STOXXE rose 0.2% to touch its highest since September 2000.
Automakers .SXAP were the top gainers, up 0.7%, followed by miners .SXPP and travel stocks .SXTP .
French car parts maker Faurecia EPED.PA rose 1% after its first-quarter sales beat market expectations, helped by particularly strong growth in China. Bank DANSKE.CO slipped 1.7% as Chief Executive Officer Chris Vogelzang resigned after the Dutch authorities named him as a suspect in a probe into violations of money-laundering regulations at Dutch lender ABN Amro ABNd.AS . Amro rose 3.3% after it said it had reached a 480-million-euro ($574 million) settlement with prosecutors over money laundering allegations.