European shares rose for a second straight session on Thursday, propped up by financial and energy stocks, as investors cheered improving consumer sentiment in the United States after inflation expectations eased.
The region-wide STOXX 600 index was up 0.3% at 0809 GMT in holiday-thinned trading, taking cues from an upbeat session on Wall Street overnight.
Wall Street’s main indexes logged their biggest daily gains so far this month on Wednesday, helped by a reading which showed US consumer confidence rose to an eight-month high in December as inflation retreated and the labour market remained strong.
Among STOXX 600 sectors, energy stocks jumped 0.7% to spearhead gains, as they tracked oil prices higher.
Banks were up for a fifth straight session, rising 0.5%. London Metric Property fell 2.4% as Citigroup cut the UK-based real estate investment trust’s rating to “neutral” from “buy.”
