Business

European shares limp higher on stimulus hopes

by fm

5th June 2012

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1 min read

European shares advanced on Tuesday after a choppy, nervous session as investors tentatively bought into beaten-down shares on hopes for global central bank policy action to revive the economic recovery.

The Euro STOXX 50 provisionally closed up 0.4 percent at 2,086.94, extending the previous session's modest bounce off Friday's eight-month closing low in the aftermath of a dismal U.S. jobs report, with volumes thinned by a second day of UK public holidays.

"If you look at equity markets in the past few days, indeed there is some expectation that something is done by governments – not sure if it will be G7, European political leaders or ECB which takes the initiative," Luca Solca, global head of European research at CA Cheuvreux, said.

Investors were keenly awaiting a European Central Bank meeting on Wednesday and a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday for any further policy announcements.