America News Agency

According to the analysts, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 opened 28 points higher at 8,300, Germany’s DAX was up 58 points at 19,249.8, France’s CAC 40 was 39 points higher at 7,601, and Italy’s FTSE MIB was up 46 points at 33,720.

It follows a negative start to the trading month on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq Composite shedding 1.5 percent and the S&P 500 losing 0.9 percent after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel in retaliation for its recent killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian commander in Lebanon.

The attack came on the heels of Israel’s deployment of ground forces into south Lebanon, escalating its offensive on Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.

Oil prices spiked following the attack on the prospect of supply disruptions, while the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, topped 20 at its high of the day.

U.S. futures remained lower in overnight trading, while Asia-Pacific markets were mixed.

Mainland China markets were closed Wednesday for the Golden Week holiday and will remain closed for the rest of the week. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded more than 6 percent higher, signalling more optimism about Beijing’s stimulus policies.