European shares jumped to fresh six-month highs this morning as investors bet that President George W. Bush will win a second term and a legal dispute over the outcome may be avoided.
However, questions over provisional ballots in Ohio state delayed a final verdict.
"It's a better-the-devil-you-know sort of approach and reduces the uncertainty," said Mr Nigel Cobby, managing director of European equities at JP Morgan investment bank.
By 8 a.m., the FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.5 per cent to 1,021 points, its best levels since late April.
Among the individual bourses, London was up 0.5 per cent, while Frankfurt gained 0.7 per cent and Paris rose 0.7 per cent.
Pharmaceuticals were among the top gainers with GlaxoSmithKline up 1.6 per cent and AstraZeneca 2.3 per cent ahead.
The market sees President Bush as being more friendly to the drug industry than Democratic contender Mr John Kerry, who has called on health plans to negotiate lower prices direct with drug makers.
US stock index futures were up about 1 per cent, signalling that Wall Street was set to open up sharply as well.