European markets closed higher on a tame core inflation report from the United States and a good start in Wall Street.
In London the FTSE 100 index added 0.20% to close at 6,568, while in Paris the CAC 40 rose 0.39% to reach 6,049 and in Frankfurt the Dax gained 0.61% to finish at 7,505.
Investors applauded Canadian group Thomson's takeover of British media giant Reuters for £8.7 billion pounds, which will create the biggest financial news provider in the world.
News of the mega-deal sent Reuters' share price soaring 3.39% to 626 pence in London.
Meanwhile Hanson jumped 4.73% to 1,107 pence after German cement maker HeidelbergCement launched a friendly takeover of the British building materials specialist.
Meanwhile in Dublin the ISEQ closed 0.5% higher at 9,617. On a quiet market Fyffes was up almost 3% at €1.06, Independent news and Media was up 1% at €3.76, and CRH was up 2% at €34.90.
As Europe closed, US stocks swung higher as a report showing US inflation generally contained offset disappointing earnings from the retail sector.
The Dow Jones advanced 68 points (0.51%) to 13,414 and the Nasdaq added 4 points (0.14%) to 2,550.
Earlier in Asian deals, Tokyo's Nikkei-225 index of leading shares fell 0.93% to close at 17,512 points.
