Fed signals buoy European shares, InBev jumps
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July 19 (Reuters) - A strong oil sector and firming expectations of more monetary easing from the world's big central banks drove European shares half a percent higher on Friday, ending a volatile week marked by a series of luke-warm corporate earnings.
Budweiser owner Anheuser-Busch InBev topped Europe's main index, up 4.6% after the debt-heavy brewer said it had agreed to sell its Australian operations to Japan's Asahi .
New York Federal Reserve chief John Williams on Thursday said policymakers could not wait for economic disaster to hit before adding stimulus, cementing expectations of a cut in U.S. interest rates next week and supporting stock markets globally.
The pan-European stocks benchmark, which hit a 3-week low on Thursday, rose 0.5% by 0705 GMT, tracking overnight gains in Asia and on Wall Street.
The oil and gas sector rose 0.55% as crude prices gained on the back of the latest signs of tension between the United and States and Iran. (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)
