By DPA,
Frankfurt : European stocks staged a cautious recovery Thursday, helped along by an element of calm returning to share markets in Asia and the US after this week’s panic share sell off around the world.
Europe’s benchmark Stoxx 50 index was trading up by 0.6 percent at 2,375 by late morning trading Thursday.
The signs of a brittle calm returning to European stock trading came after fears about the economic fallout from the global credit crunch led to the dramatic falls on stock markets around the world.
Dealers said that despite the initial lukewarm investor reaction to Wednesday’s co-ordinated global rate cut, the 50 basis points reduction in borrowing costs in leading world economies was now also helping to shore up confidence.
This in turn gave the euro a new firmer sense of direction with the European common currency rising by about 1.0 percent to $1.3742 Thursday.
While Europe’s premiere stock market in London had gained more than 2.0 percent by late morning, Paris’ CAC 40 was up 2.65 percent and Frankfurt’s DAX had climbed by 1.45 percent.
Shares in emerging markets also gained ground, with stocks in Warsaw rising by 0.55 per cent and the Moscow stock market rebounding after a week of massive losses in Russia’s worst financial crisis since the collapse of the ruble in 1998.
At one point during trading Thursday, Moscow’s benchmark RTS index had jumped by 15.77 per cent.
After a further slide in shares on Wall Street Wednesday, a 1.6 percent increase in US futures also pointed to a more positive opening in New York, the world’s biggest share market.