INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
European shares edged up on Friday, buoyed by a bounce on Wall Street as a turbulent week drew to a close and investors licked their wounds
after the region's benchmark STOXX 600 sank to its lowest level since US President Donald Trump's election.
The STOXX 600 was up 1 per
cent by 0827 GMT with Britain's FTSE 100 up 1.2 per cent
The pan-European benchmark hit a low of 327.34 points on Thursday, its lowest level since Nov
9, 2016.
Volumes remained very light with many investors away for the Christmas holidays
Just 5 per cent of the 30-day average daily volume was traded in the first 30 minutes, usually the busiest.
The oil sector was the top
gainer in early deals as crude prices clawed back some of their lost ground
Europe's oil and gas index jumped 1.5 per cent.
Aker BP, John Wood Group, Subsea 7 , and Premier Oil all gained 2.6 to 5.1 per
cent.
Christmas week has been a wild ride for investors, with US and European stocks suffering significant losses on Dec
24, but Wall Street's recovery rally on Thursday to gains of more than 1 per cent helped lift sentiment in Asia and Europe.
Threats lurked
still, though, with a US government shutdown continuing.
The most notable mover in illiquid trading was UK inkjet printer technology maker
Xaar, whose shares fell 15.8 per cent to the bottom of the small-cap index after a profit warning.
