European shares inched up on Wednesday, with UK's FTSE 100 outpacing peers after a long Christmas holiday weekend as investors assessed Beijing's steps towards reopening its COVID-battered economy.
The region-wide STOXX 600 (.STOXX) was up 0.3% by 8:09 GMT, while the FTSE 100 gained 0.9% as commodity-linked and China-exposed stocks gained. The UK market was closed for holidays since its half-day trading on Friday.
Miners (.SXPP) jumped in early trading as copper prices rallied on hopes of a demand recovery in the world's second-largest economy after China further eased its stringent COVID curbs on Monday.
China-exposed luxury firms extended gains, with LVMH (LVMH.PA), Kering (PRTP.PA) and Richemont (CFR.S) rising between 0.3% and 0.5%.
London-listed financials exposed to China such as insurer Prudential (PRU.L) and HSBC (HSBA.L) added 2% and 1.3%, respectively.
Ireland stock market, which was also closed since its half-day trading on Friday, rose with the ISEQ (.ISEQ) gaining 0.6%.
Traders and analysts said thin trading volumes also influenced market moves
