Europe: Stocks rebound at open in volatile trade

[LONDON] European stocks rebounded on Tuesday in opening deals on the eve of a Federal Reserve monetary policy decision, after tumbling the previous day on Ukraine tensions and US rate hike fears.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of major blue-chip companies was up 0.7 percent to 7,345.34 points compared with the closing level on Monday.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX added 0.6 per cent to 15,096.24 points and the Paris CAC 40 gained one per cent to stand at 6,854.76.

"Volatility is likely to prevail for the moment, with tensions between Russia and Ukraine unsettling investor sentiment, and with the imminent Federal Reserve meeting likely to have a major impact on the short term direction," said Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter.

Asian indices plunged on Tuesday following a highly volatile day on Wall Street fuelled by fears about the Fed's plans to hike borrowing costs.

Global equities were spooked on Monday with London diving 2.6 per cent while Frankfurt and Paris had each tumbled by almost four per cent.

Wall Street stocks, however, staged a feverish comeback Monday after stumbling to multi-month lows.

Heightened concern about Russia's troop build-up on Ukraine's border has weighed on investor sentiment, alongside a disappointing start to the corporate earnings season.

AFP