European shares rise as trade relief rally shows it has legs

LONDON: European shares rose strongly at the open on Friday, extending their gains from the previous session as a relief rally due to easing fears of a trade war helped Wall Street hit record highs, while Asian shares also rose further overnight.

At 0730 GMT, euro zone blue chips were up 0.7 per cent and heading into a 10th straight session of gains, a performance not seen since 1997.

Germany's DAX , home to some of the continent's mightiest exporters, was up 0.7 per cent while autos, miners and banks were the top gainers across European bourses.

Within the pan-European STOXX 600, shares in British industrial technology firm Smiths posted the worst performance, dropping 9 per cent after its full-year profit missed analysts' estimates.

Just Eat lost 5.5 per cent after a report said Uber was in early talks to buy Deliveroo, potentially giving it a major rival in the food delivery business.