European stocks higher as Brent crude breaches $80 a barrel
LONDON (AP) — European stocks brushed aside earlier losses in Asia to rise solidly Thursday with oil companies in demand as the international measure of oil struck its highest level in three-and-a-half years after French oil giant Total threatened to pull out of Iran.
KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.3 percent to 7,754 while France's CAC 40 rose 0.5 percent to 5,592. Germany's DAX advanced 0.3 percent to 13,037. Futures augured a sluggish start on Wall Street. S&P futures dipped 0.1 percent while Dow futures remained flat.
OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 70 cents to $72.20 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oil, rose 77 cents to $80.