FTSE 100 up 0.39%; DAX up 0.53%; CAC 40 up 0.65% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milan, 22 Jul - European shares opened moderately higher, rebounding from Friday's losses, with the Stoxx 600 index up 0.51%.

Investors digested news that US president Joe Biden had dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed vice president Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

The move was broadly expected after Biden's underwhelming debate performance against Donald Trump in June, and after polls recently showed the increasing likelihood of an election win by Trump in November.

Investors looked for fresh direction after the European Central Bank last week left interest rates unchanged and indicated that a rate hike in September is 'wide open'.

Traders now awaited earning reports from Europe's biggest banks this week as well as key data from the US including GDP figures on Thursday and the core personal consumption expenditures index, the Federal Reserve's favoured inflation measure, on Friday. The index is seen rising 0.1% in June, pulling the annual increase down a tick to 2.5%.

In the region's stock market dealings most sectors were higher, while the oil and gas, travel and leisure, retail and insurance sectors underperformed.

At 0739 GMT, the London FTSE 100 was up 0.39% at 8,187 points, the Frankfurt DAX was up 0.53% at 18,262 points, the Paris CAC 40 up 0.65% at 7,583 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB was up 0.88% at 34,518 points, and in Madrid the IBEX 35 was up 0.31% at 11,121 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 22-07-24 09:52:15 (0160) 5 NNNN