Europe's markets have firmed as reports of ongoing peace talks between the US and Iran nudged oil prices down before what is widely expected to be the first European Central Bank interest rate hike in nearly three years.
The pan-European STOXX 600 and the euro both inched higher on Thursday as traders papered over a one-month low for MSCI's world share index after a near nine per cent plunge in Oracle's shares on Wednesday had buffeted Asia too.
As Brent reversed to $US92 a barrel on the revived peace hopes, focus was already turning to the ECB's likely rate hike, which follows weeks of hints from policymakers, but also some increasingly weak economic data.
