Fed signals buoy European shares, InBev jumps

A strong oil sector and firming expectations of more monetary easing from the world's big central banks drove European shares half a percent higher on Friday, ending a volatile week marked by a series of luke-warm corporate earnings.

Budweiser owner Anheuser-Busch InBev topped Europe's main index, up 4.6% after the debt-heavy brewer said it had agreed to sell its Australian operations to Japan's Asahi. New York Federal Reserve chief John Williams on Thursday said policymakers could not wait for economic disaster to hit before adding stimulus, cementing expectations of a cut in U.S. interest rates next week and supporting stock markets globally.

The pan-European stocks benchmark, which hit a 3-week low on Thursday, rose 0.5% by 0705 GMT, tracking overnight gains in Asia and on Wall Street. The oil and gas sector rose 0.55% as crude prices gained on the back of the latest signs of tension between the United and States and Iran.