European stocks began to recover this afternoon after turning sharply downward following reports of a number of explosions on London's public transport system.
However, so far there is only one reported casualty, and the markets have started to recover and are now back in positive territory.
Emergency services in London responded to reports of several incidents on the London Underground and one on a bus, but there were no reports of any casualties.
In early afternoon trade, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was flat at 1,163.29. Frankfurt's Xetra Dax added 1.1 per cent to 4,839.76, while in Paris, the CAC-40 climbed 0.5 per cent to 4,442.2, and London's FTSE 100 gained 0.1 per cent to 5,219.5.
Oil prices fell overnight after US stockpiles were shown to have suffered less than feared at the hands of recent hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. Nymex West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, fell below $58 a barrel in early electronic trade.
Following falls in the previous session due to disappointment from Motorola of the United States, mobile handset makers Ericsson and Nokia were in the spotlight again as both reported second-quarter earnings.
Agencies