European Shares Rise, Led by Defensive Shares

European shares turned positive on Wednesday, led by defensive sectors and banks, and with U.S. stock index futures pointing to a higher open, although volumes were relatively thin and weaker luxury goods stocks weighed on investor sentiment.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.1 percent at 1,040.07 points by 1043 GMT, recovering from losses that had seen the index fall as much as 0.6 percent at one stage.

Defensive sectors including telecoms and utilities were among the best performing sectors, while euro zone banks also gained.