London - UK stocks advanced, rebounding from the worst selloff in more than 15 months, as gains in mining shares offset a slide in Shire.
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group, the world’s biggest miners, each rose more than 1 percent.
Ashtead Group climbed 2.1 percent after US peer United Rentals posted better-than-estimated profit.
Shire tumbled 8.2 percent, heading for its biggest two-day drop since 2002, after AbbVie’s board recommended that shareholders vote against buying the UK drugmaker.
The FTSE 100 Index added 11.76 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,223.4 at 9:02 a.m. in London, paring earlier gains of as much as 1.2 percent.
The equity benchmark on Wednesday fell 2.8 percent, the most since June 2013, as Shire led health-care companies lower and US retail-sales data disappointed.
The broader FTSE All-Share Index rose 0.1 percent on Thursday, while Ireland’s ISEQ Index was little changed.
Bloomberg