Europe: Stock markets extend gains at open

[LONDON] Europe's major stock markets climbed at the open Thursday, building on the previous session's strong gains despite huge uncertainty over the final outcome of the US election.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 rose 0.5 per cent to 5,911.47 points, also after the Bank of England injected another £150 billion of cash stimulus into the virus-wracked UK economy.

In the eurozone, the Paris CAC 40 added 0.9 per cent to 4,966.61 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 was up 0.8 per cent at 12,422.26.

The knife-edge US presidential race tilted towards Democrat Joe Biden early Thursday, with wins in Michigan and Wisconsin bringing him close to a majority, but President Donald Trump claimed he was being cheated and went to court to try and stop vote counting.

"European stocks have opened strongly once again, despite the US election dragging on as the Trump campaign launches challenges and demands recounts in some swing states," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.

"It seems investors are somewhat satisfied with how things have gone and only view Trump's challenges as a delay to Biden eventually being declared the victor." AFP