BBC News - European markets stabilise after falls

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European markets have opened slightly higher, a day after global turmoil saw billions wiped off the value of shares.

After falling 3.5% on Wednesday, London's benchmark FTSE 100 share index was up 0.5% in the first few minutes of trading.

Earlier, stocks in Asia had fallen further, with Japan's leading share index closing down by more than 2%.

Investors remain worried over the continuing slide in oil prices and slowing growth in China.

On Wednesday, global stock markets suffered hefty losses and London's FTSE 100 entered a "bear market", having fallen 20% from its record high in April last year.

But in the first few minutes of trade on Thursday, the FTSE 100 was up 31.78 points at 5,705.36.

• What markets are really worried about

• Just how low can oil prices go?

• China economic slowdown: Can it avoid a crash?

Oil market

Oil prices remained weak on Thursday, having hit their lowest levels since 2003 in the previous session.

A brief rally in crude prices quickly ran out of steam, and after climbing back above the $28-a-barrel mark, Brent crude fell back to $27.79.

US crude was trading at $28.23 a barrel, having fallen below $27 on Wednesday.

Crude oil prices have been falling since mid 2014, but oil-producing countries have maintained output despite the decline, contributing to the excess supplies on the market.

Earlier in the week, the International Energy Agency warned that oil markets could "drown in oversupply" in 2016.

'Good shape'

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 share index closed down 2.4%, while China's Shanghai Composite ended the day down 3.2%.

On Wednesday, US shares had also been hit, with the Dow Jones closing 1.6% lower after a volatile trading day.

However, Patrick Thomson from JP Morgan Asset Management told the BBC that investors should not panic.

"If you look at the US economy particularly, that is actually in pretty good shape," he said.

"You look at all of the data coming out recently, clearly growth is a little muted and corporate earnings are somewhat lower than expected due to energy prices and the strong dollar, but underlying fundamentals, particularly the US consumer, is in very good shape."