Most European shares closed higher for a third day in a row this evening as BP rebounded on supportive UK government comments and investors focused on positive data from the US, lifting risk sensitive banks.
London's FTSE added 31 points (0.6%) to finish at 5,164. Shares in BP managed to claw back some of their heavier losses during the week, gaining over 7% this evening . The Paris CAC 40 rose 39 points (1%) to end at 3,556, but the Frankfurt DAX slipped nine points (0.14%) to close at 6,048.
After two days of strong gains, Dublin's ISEQ index closed 22 points (0.7%) lower at 3,048 this evening. Shares in the banks were mixed with Bank of Ireland up almost 3% to 79 cent, while AIB slipped 0.2% to 89 cent and Irish Life and Permanent fell 2.5% to €1.60 after Standard & Poor's said it was cutting its outlook from stable to negative.
US stocks were mixed this evening after weaker than expected retail sales numbers indicated slow growth in consumer spending that drives the bulk of US economic activity. The Dow Jones had lost 43 points (0.4%) to stand at 10,130, while the Nasdaq inched four points (0.2%) higher to stand at 2,223.
Earlier, Tokyo's Nikkei gained 1.7% to close at 9,705, as a halt in the yen's rise lifted exporters. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong finished up 1.2% at 19,872.
