European shares continued to move higher for the first time in three days, as they staged a recovery from the heavy sell-off in the previous two sessions after Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union.
London's FTSE index had gained 2.7% this afternoon, while the Frankfurt DAX was 2.6% higher and the Paris CAC jumped 3%.
After slumping nearly 10% yesterday, Dublin's ISEQ index had gained 3.3% this afternoon with the likes of Ryanair, Kingspan, Paddy Power and CRH making back of their steep losses.
Volkswagen shares rose over 3.2%, as sources said the German carmaker was nearing a settlement valued at more than $15 billion with nearly 500,000 US diesel owners and government regulators over polluting vehicles.
Shares in oil majors also advanced to add a further stabilising effect to the market, with oil prices climbing as a looming strike in Norway threatened to cut output in western Europe's biggest producer.
Earlier in Asian trade, Tokyo's Nikkei stock index closed 0.1% higher as speculation about a fresh round of economic stimulus to offset the effects of Britain's European Union exit reversed big morning losses.
