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July 19 (Reuters) - 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 ABI.BR 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
2502.T .
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 .STOXX , 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 .SXEP rose 0.55% as crude prices
gained on the back of the latest signs of tension between the
United and States and Iran. O/R