European shares open higher led by Casino; Burberry slumps

European shares rose on Thursday following three days of losses, tracking gains in Asia on growing expectations the U.S. will delay any interest rate hike until 2016, with retailer Casino among the top performers.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.6 per cent while the euro zone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index gained by 0.5 per cent.

Casino was the top gainer in the pan-European index with a rise of 7 per cent as third quarter sales at the French retailer showed a marked improvement across all store formats in its home market.

Unilever rose 3.5 per cent after it reported better than expected third-quarter sales, although it added that sluggish markets globally continued to weigh on its performance.

However, Burberry fell 9 per cent after the company missed forecasts for first-half sales growth and highlighted an increasingly challenging environment for luxury sales, hit particularly by greater caution amongst Chinese customers.

Volkswagen rose 0.7 per cent, shrugging off news that the German automotive watchdog KBA will force the carmaker to recall 2.4 million vehicles in connection with a emissions test rigging scandal.