European shares gain as Britain delivers rate cut

European shares rose for the first time in five sessions on Wednesday, as Britain became the latest country to cut interest rates in a bid to contain the economic damage from the coronavirus epidemic.

The benchmark STOXX 600 was up 1.4% at 0803 GMT, with London's FTSE 100 rising 1.5% after the Bank of England cut rates for the first time since August 2016. The move also lifted sentiment in Germany, France and Spain, with bourses there adding between 1.4% and 2.2% following four days of declines on the double shock of a collapse in oil prices and the rapid spread of the virus.

All the European sub-sectors were trading higher, with the oil and gas, utilities, autos and banking indexes among the biggest gainers.