European shares edged up in early afternoon trade today, in low volumes, with many exchanges either closed or open only part of the day, but with the top European index on track for its strongest performance in 10 years.
At 1243 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.1 percent at 1,038.73 points after hitting its highest close since Oct. 3 2008 in the previous session.
The index is up more than 60 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, with several major economies having come out of recession. It is up more than 24 percent in 2009, on track for its strongest year since 1999, when it surged nearly 34 percent.
However, it has regained less than a third of the ground it lost in 2008.
"To be in this upbeat position is good, after all the pain and unhappiness of last year," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Securities in London.
"The question is whether the rally will be sustained into the new year, and I think it will. We know the profits story will be supportive, with topline growth.
He added: "I'm doubtful looking further into the year. With the U.S. economy continuing to improve, we may see the Federal Reserve change its policy on interest rates."
Energy shares benefitted from crude oil prices rising on Wednesday, after a deeper-than-forecast drop in inventories in the United States. BP, BG Group, Tullow Oil and Total added 0.7 to 2.3 percent.
Miners got strength from higher metals prices. BHP Billiton , Rio Tinto, Fresnillo and Xstrata rose between 1.3 and 6.1 percent.
Total volumes on the index were just 22.2 percent of its three-month daily average. Markets in a number of European countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland were closed on Thursday.
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent to hit a 15-month closing high when its session ended at 1230 GMT. France's CAC-40 rose 0.1 percent.
Banks were generally higher. Banco Santander and HSBC were up 0.6 and 0.7 percent respectively.
Royal Bank of Scotland gained 3.1 percent. The company, majority-owned by the state, is looking to sell its fund management arm and a source at Aberdeen Asset Management told Reuters it is among those interested.
British supermarket giant Tesco was one of the biggest gainers, up 2.2 percent. Earlier this week, the company set out an aggressive plan to win market share from rivals over the crucial Christmas period.
US markets will close at 1800 GMT, with data on durable goods and weekly jobless numbers due before the opening.