European shares climbed to a two-month high this morning, led by media and real estate stocks, with software firm Sage jumping to a record high following a strong annual operating profit.
London's FTSE index had gained 15 points (0.2%) to stand at 7,497 by 9am, while the Paris CAC was up 32 points (0.4%) to trade at 7,261 and the Frankfurt DAX added advanced 41 points (0.2%) to reach 15,940.
Dublin's ISEQ index was also higher this morning, adding 30 points (0.3%) to hit 8,218. Shares in Uniphar gained 2.1% to stand at €2.14, while Glenveagh Properties moved 1.3% higher to trade at €1.04. Shares in Kerry Group were up 1.1% to €72.72 while Ryanair rose 0.7% to reach €17.38.
Earlier in Asian trade, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained 97 points (0.3%) to close at 33,452 after rebounding from initial losses and bucking a drop on Wall Street. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished flat at 17,734 as market participants awaited more stimulus for the Chinese economy as itstruggles to get back on solid footing.
Wall Street stocks declined last night following mixed results from retailers as markets took a breather after a three-week rally. US Federal Reserve minutes showed policy makers believe interest rates could remain elevated "for some time," but analysts said the bigger factor in last night's down session was the sense that the market was overbought.
The Dow Jones ended down 0.2% at 35,088, while the broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.2% to close at 4,538 and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index dropped 0.6% to finish at 14,200.
