Europe open: Shares creep higher on back of US surge

European shares opened slightly higher on Thursday, taking their lead from an overnight bounce in US markets and Asia and some degree of bargain hunting.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index had just ticked over into positive territory. Germany's Dax and Italy's MIB, both closed on Christmas eve when the US slump hit, opened lower.

In New York, the Dow Jones index surged more than 1,000 points on Wednesday, racking up its biggest one-day points gain ever. This followed Wall Street’s worst-ever performance on Christmas Eve.

US investors took comfort from strong retail sales data over the Christmas period and comments by chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Kevin Hassett that Fed chairman Jerome Powell’s job was “100% safe”.

Markets had been spooked on Monday when rumours started circulating that President Donald Trump, furious at the Fed's decision to raise rates, was considering firing Powell.

"The surge in online purchases over the holiday season should be a reminder for the markets never to underestimate the purchasing power of the US consumer, as Mastercard payments tracking between November 1 and Christmas Eve leapt 5.1% from a year ago," said Stephen Innes, head of Oanda Asia Pacific trading.

In corporate news TechnipFMC led the risers on the back of a deal signed during the Christmas break with Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings and the Saudi Arabian Oil Company.