RTRS: Europe shares rise; oils gain on firm crude price
LONDON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - European shares rose in early trade on Wednesday, with oils gaining on firmer crude prices and after Asian shares rose on hopes government bailout packages worldwide will restore market confidence.
At 0814 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.5 percent at 864.24 points. On Tuesday, the index rose 1.4 percent but has lost more than 42 percent this year, battered by a credit crisis that has helped to push several major economies into recession.
Total (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), ENI (ENI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 0.5 to 1.2 percent, as crude CLc1 rose more than 2 percent to $43.17 a barrel.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 3.2 percent on Wednesday on hopes governments worldwide will help out ailing industries and implement stimulus measures as they fight back against a deepening economic crisis.
The White House and U.S. Congressional Democrats reached a tentative agreement on a bailout for beleaguered U.S. auto makers, sending counterparts such as Honda Motor (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sharply higher.
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as profit warnings from FedEx Corp (FDX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and others prompted investors to retrench after two days of big gains, while unprecedented demand for the safety of government securities signaled fear remains a dominant force in the market.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 2.7 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gave up 2.3 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC fell 1.6 percent.
"There's a two-way pull. Bad earnings news, the likes of FedEx, is baked in the cake now," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin.
"Markets have adjusted so much to an appalling view of the future. But we've never seen such a massive policy response before. And there's a lot of cash sitting on the sidelines."
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE was up 0.4 percent, France's CAC-40 .FCHI was up 0.5 percent and Germany's DAX .GDAXI rose 0.9 percemt. (Reporting by Brian Gorman; Editing by Erica Billingham)
