European Shares Rise on Energy, Financials Boost

European shares rose for a second straight session on Thursday, propped up by financial and energy stocks, as investors cheered improving consumer sentiment in the United States after inflation expectations eased. The region-wide STOXX 600 index was up 0.3% at 0809 GMT in holiday-thinned trading, taking cues from an upbeat session on Wall Street overnight. Wall Street’s main indexes logged their biggest daily gains so far this month on Wednesday, helped by a reading which showed U.S. consumer confidence rose to an eight-month high in December as inflation retreated and the labour market remained strong. Among STOXX 600 sectors, energy stocks jumped 0.7% to spearhead gains, as they tracked oil prices higher. [O/R]. Banks were up for a fifth straight session, rising 0.5%. LondonMetric Property fell 2.4% as Citigroup (NYSE:C) cut the UK-based real estate investment trust’s rating to “neutral” from “buy.”