Europe shares inch up early; U.S. Budget talks eyed

PARIS, Dec 28: European shares inched higher in early trade on Friday, lifted by fresh hopes that a deal will be reached on time to avoid the U.S. ‘fiscal cliff’.
At 0803 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.1 percent at 1,138.74 points.
U.S. President Barack Obama and lawmakers are set to have a last round of talks before a New Year’s deadline to reach a deal and avoid massive tax hikes and spending cuts which could drag the economy into recession.
‘The information we get from Washington is contradictory, one day it’s positive and the following day it’s negative. But somehow, traders believe that there will be some kind of deal to avoid falling off the cliff,’ a Paris-based trader said.
(AGENCIES)