European markets opened lower but ended the day with significant gains. They shook off their early worries about Dubai's decision to delay payment on some of its $59bn debt pile. It appears that investors are convincing themselves that Dubai is a special case and that the fall in the markets was overdone.

It was enough to help European banks to recover with shares in Deutsche Bank, UBS, BNP Paribas and Santander all ending the day higher.

The Dax ended 71 points higher in Frankfurt at 5,686, while the Cac was 42 points higher at 3,721. The Swiss market gained 61 points to 6,344.

A recovery in the oil price later in the day meant that it finished above $75/barrel, which made it a good day for oil companies. Royal Dutch Shell, Eni and Total all ended the day higher after falling in the morning.

Elsewhere, financial services group ING was a big faller after it priced its €7.5bn rights issue at a steep discount. The Dutch firm said it would issue 1.7bn new shares at €4.24.

Economic confidence in the eurozone rose for the eighth month running and slightly more than expected in November, official figures showed this morning.

The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator added 2.7 points to 88.8 in the eurozone, though that is still below the long-term average of 100.


CAC 40 - Risers
Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) € 2.33 +5.20%
ArcelorMittal SA (MT) € 25.99 +4.38%
Michelin (ML) € 52.19 +3.82%
Lafarge (LG) € 55.82 +2.97%
Renault (RNO) € 32.29 +2.31%
Cap Gemini (CAP) € 31.05 +2.31%
BNP Paribas (BNP) € 55.03 +2.19%
EADS (EAD) € 11.98 +2.04%
ST Microelectronics (STM) € 5.45 +2.04%
Alstom (ALO) € 47.90 +1.77%

CAC 40 - Fallers
Lagardere SCA (MMB) € 28.94 -0.40%
Sanofi-Aventis (SAN) € 51.29 -0.02%

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