European markets are edging cautiously higher on Tuesday, with concerns over Ukraine subsiding for the moment and encouraging news on the situation in Iraq, reports FTAdviser sister title FastFT.
Iraq’s politicians have defied expectations and forged a new government led by prime minister Haider Abadi, the Shia political activist and UK-educated engineer. Unity in Baghdad is seen as crucial to counter the threat from Islamist militants in northern Iraq and Syria.
Here’s how the markets currently stand in Europe:
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 is up 0.1 per cent or 2 points at 1,392 points.
The FTSE 100 in London is up 0.1 per cent or 6 points at 6,840.
The Xetra Dax in Frankfurt is up 0.04 per cent or 4 points at 9,763.
The CAC 40 in Paris is up 0.15 per cent or 6 points at 4,481.
Telecom Italia is atop the Eurofirst 300 index - up 2.8 per cent at €0.91 - after Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim’s América Móvil said it would hold talks with Oi about joining its bid to buy the Italian telecom company’s Brazilian unit.
In London, Petra Diamonds is top of the mid-cap FTSE 250, rising 6.7 per cent to 188.8p after announcing another large diamond discovery - a 232-carat white diamond - at its Cullinan mine in South Africa
Quindell is 5.5 per cent higher at 174p on announcing a successful libel action against a short-seller that had described the insurance processor as “uninvestable”.
Blur Group is up 10 per cent at 89p, after releasing first-half numbers that showed strong growth for the online projects marketplace compared to restated 2013 figures.
