The main European equity markets advanced Thursday as a strong finish on Wall Street offset worries about sovereign debt in peripheral euro-zone countries. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.5% to 267.72. The gains came after a strong session for stocks on Wall Street, which continued to rally into the closing bell after well-received economic data.

Low trading volumes across Europe reflected the fact that U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed up 0.7% to 5,698.93 as gains for real estate stocks and some miners helped lift the index. Shares in Capital Shopping Centres Group were the biggest gainers in the FTSE index, climbing nearly 13% after the company said it had received a preliminary approach from Simon Property Group Inc. The potential bid also provided a lift for other real-estate companies, with Hammerson up 4.8% and British Land up 2.4%. Shares in Anglo American rose 2.7%.

Among the other major indexes, Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.8% to 6,879.66 as car makers BMW and Volkswagen both rose around 1%. The French CAC 40 index gained 0.3% to 3,760.42. The Irish ISEQ index fell 1.2% and Spain's IBEX 35 index slipped 0.2%. Gallagher said there is still a lot of uncertainty in Ireland over whether corporation tax levels will be increased and this is hurting some otherwise relatively strong Irish companies. There is also continued skepticism over whether the country can keep up with payments under a bailout.

Asian markets

Asian shares ended mostly higher Thursday as concerns over tensions on the Korean peninsula eased and on upbeat expectations for a solid start to the U.S. holiday shopping season. But India's shares ended lower after the Central Bureau of Investigation Wednesday arrested eight people, including the chief executive of LIC Housing Finance, in a case related to bribing senior officials at state run banks and financial institutions to get corporate loans.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average advanced 0.5%, South Korea's Kospi ended up 0.1%. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.3% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 0.1%, but India's Sensex shed 0.7%. He added that expectations are growing for relatively strong sales for Black Friday, as the day after the U.S.Thanksgiving holiday is sometimes known, and the ensuing U.S. holiday shopping season.

In Tokyo, exporters got a boost from a weaker yen, with Toyota Motor closing up 1.1% and TDK rising 2.6%. Upbeat expectations for the U.S. shopping season also helped support shares in Seoul as tensions on the Korean peninsula have eased after Tuesday's North Korean artillery barrage on a South Korean island.

Most banks rallied on a brighter business outlook as interest rates are expected to continue to rise next year. KB Financial rose 1.7% and Woori Financial gained 4.7%. In Hong Kong, exporters also rose, with consumer goods exporter Li & Fung, which derives a large proportion of its revenue from U.S. customers, adding 5.2%.

Base metals

Base metals closed higher on the London Metal Exchange Thursday after being buoyed by a firmer euro in an otherwise uneventful, holiday-thinned session. The euro strengthened against the dollar on a number of encouraging statements from key EU officials, including German Bundesbank President Axel Weber who described the euro as being among the world's most stable currencies.

Sentiment was also more upbeat as fears over geopolitical tensions in the Korean peninsula eased and investors focused on the more positive figures out of a mixed bag of U.S. data Wednesday solid consumer spending and jobless claims figures. LME three month copper closed up 1.1% at $8,340 a metric ton. Nickel was again a strong performer after some technical buying, closing up 1.3% at $22,800/ton.

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