Europe's main stock markets rose at the start of trading Thursday following gains in Asia and a sell-off on Wall Street.

London's FTSE 100 index gained 0.5 percent to 7,882.97 points.

In the eurozone, the Paris CAC 40 index gained 0.3 percent to 8,006.29 points and Frankfurt's DAX advanced 0.2 percent to 17,807.89.