Market Update
Equities in Europe started higher early Thursday, as stocks shrugged off weak markets in Asia, even as gains remained capped with concerns over Japan lingering.
At 2:00 p.m. (I.S.T.), Britain's FTSE, France's CAC and Germany's DAX rose 0.5% to 0.7%.
Markets rose in the region, halting days of decline logged in the aftermath of last week's destructive Japanese earthquake and tsunami, which crippled power plants and brought the world's third-largest economy on the verge of a nuclear disaster.
Stocks, which had been beaten down the most in the recent decline, witnessed buying with insurance and miners leading the gainers--Munich Re advanced 1.5% in Germany while Kazakhmys climbed 2.2% in London.
In news-driven movers, Carrefour went up 1% after a broker upgrade.
But investor sentiment continued to remain cautious as Japanese workers continued to fight a breakdown in nuclear power plants, which have been emanating radio waves at an alarming level since a breakdown after the quake, pouring water to cool down reactors.
Earlier, in Asian trading, the Japanese yen rose to all-time highs as Japanese stocks dropped and investors fled to the perceived safe haven, but pulled off later as the Bank of Japan said it may intervene to rein in the currency's strength.