World shares rose modestly in subdued trading today as investors waited to see the full impact of a massive storm that wrought destruction across the eastern United States.
The monster storm, named Sandy, was responsible for at least 15 deaths, left millions without power, and has closed much of New York's financial district.
Wall Street shut for a second day, and bond trading was also halted as the focus switched to whether markets would be able to resume activity on the final day of the month on Wednesday, which is key to pricing investment portfolios.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.75 per cent at 1,101.75 points and, after gains earlier in Asia, the MSCI world equity index had risen 0.3 per cent to 328.86 points.
US stock index futures, which kept trading in Europe, edged lower, but volumes were very light.
"We're a bit lost without Wall Street, frankly," said Alexandre Tixier, technical analyst at TradingSat, in Paris.
Across European stock markets, attention was on corporate earnings, with results from well known names like Germany's Deutsche Bank, Swiss banking giant UBS and oil major BP lifting prices.
UBS shares leapt over four percent as it confirmed a plan to cut 10,000 jobs.
Britain's FTSE 100 index was up 0.75 per cent, Germany's DAX index up 0.9 per cent and Switzerland's SMI index up 0.5 per cent.
Reuters
