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In the first few minutes of trading, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was showing a gain of 0.5 percent at 7,267.81 points.
The picture was similar in the eurozone, with Frankfurt's DAX 30 gaining 0.5 percent to 12,408.08 points and the Paris CAC 40 adding 0.5 percent to 5,249.42 points.