adminrebounding commodity prices, especially oil.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0,73 percent to 5 861,04 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 grew 0,59 percent to 7 300,56 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index gained 0,72 percent to 3 970,68.
The Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone companies advanced 0,51 percent to 2 864,12 points.
“After five days of steady losses, the FTSE has opened up . . . on an overnight rally in oil and healthy buying on equity markets in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea,” said Spreadex trader Christopher Purdy.
Brent crude oil futures rose back above US$111 yesterday as the dollar weakened and ahead of energy inventory data from the United States.
That boosted the share prices of energy groups, with BP up 1,10 percent to 439,60 pence and Cairn Energy rising 1,93 percent to 428,30 pence.
BP was also in focus as Russia’s state-run oil firm Rosneft said it had received new cooperation proposals from the British company after their joint Arctic exploration agreement collapsed this week. – AFP.
The Russian giant did not give details nor make clear whether they included a potential new Arctic agreement covering joint exploration of Russia’s northern reserves.
A statement published on Wednesday said the offers were made as the sides tried to negotiate a way out of a dispute between BP and its TNK-BP Russian joint venture which scuppered the $16 billion deal.
The banking sector was also being tracked as Spanish banks reported a fall in the proportion of bad loans on their books in March, ending a five-month run of increases.
In a mixed day for lenders, Moody’s downgraded the debt ratings of Australia’s big four banks to Aa2, citing their dependence on volatile lending markets.
The move was well-flagged, with Moody’s placing the banks on a negative ratings watch in February, and brings them in line with the other two major ratings agencies, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, analysts said.
In Tokyo meanwhile, Japanese shares rose 0.99 percent, helped by stellar earnings by US computer maker Dell, a weaker yen and optimism for a quicker-than-expected recovery for earthquake-hit suppliers, traders said.
The benchmark Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained to close at 9,662.08 points.
Wall Street ended lower on Tuesday, extending Monday’s losses after data showed the US housing sector remained deeply depressed in April and Hewlett-Packard painted a dim picture for personal computer sales.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue-chip stocks closed down 0.55 percent at 12,479.42 points.-AFP
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