Europe stocks climb as London plays catch-up
European stocks rose on Wednesday, as London played catch-up with Frankfurt and Paris after a long Christmas break.
The British market fizzed one per cent higher, compared with the closing level on Friday.
In the eurozone, Paris won 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt added 0.1 per cent to extend solid gains on Tuesday.
"UK markets have reopened higher, playing catch up," said Victoria Scholar, investment head at Interactive Investor.
AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam cautioned however that "trading volume continues to remain on the low side" with many investors away for an extended holiday.
Oil prices fell one day after China's moves to reopen had sparked hopes for renewed demand from the world's biggest importer of crude, while traders remain on edge over Russian supplies.
Elsewhere, Asian markets mostly fell on Wednesday after a mixed Wall Street session, as China's move to reopen also revived inflation worries.
China has abruptly reversed tight pandemic curbs that kept the world's second-largest economy isolated for three years.
On Monday, Beijing announced it was ending quarantine measures for overseas arrivals from January 8, the latest move to loosen its zero-COVID regime, after it...