Europe: Shares inch higher as Chinese stocks rebound

[MILAN] European shares inched higher on Friday, signalling a possible stabilisation from this week's earlier sell-off as Chinese stocks rose after the country's circuit breaker mechanism was axed to calm investor sentiment.

By 0816 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.2 per cent but was still on track for its steepest weekly drop since late August. The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index also advanced by 0.1 per cent.

China's major stock indexes rose sharply on Friday after Beijing ditched a circuit breaker mechanism that had halted trading twice this week, and had been blamed for exacerbating the market sell-offs it was designed to limit.

Mining stocks were the main beneficiaries of the rebound after steep losses in the previous session. Mining stocks are particularly sensitive to the state of the Chinese economy, as China is the top global consumer of metals.

REUTERS