Dec 12 (Reuters) – European shares opened higher on Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after the S&P 500 closed ‍at a record high as investors globally cheered the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut and remained optimistic about more in 2026.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.3% at 582.96 by 0807 GMT, a ‌day after logging its biggest ‌one-day jump in over two weeks.

Major regional bourses were also higher, with Spain’s IBEX up 0.6% and Germany’s DAX up 0.5%.

Banks led the charge, up 0.9%. BNP Paribas gained 1.5% after the French lender said it entered exclusive talks to ‍sell its 67% stake in its Moroccan unit BMCI to Holmarcom Group.

Markets tracked gains on Wall Street overnight, ‍where the S&P 500 and the Dow closed at record highs, following comments from the Fed th

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