London — European shares opened slightly higher on Tuesday as the Bank of England (BoE) deemed that UK lenders could deal with a "disorderly" Brexit, while the dollar held steady ahead of a confirmation hearing for Federal Reserve chairman nominee Jerome Powell. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.3%, supported by financials, although a stumble in Chinese stocks for a second consecutive session kept the MSCI All-Country World index flat. European stocks were also buoyed by gains in Royal Dutch Shell after the oil major cancelled an austerity dividend, while online grocer Ocado jumped following a deal with French supermarket Casino. The BoE said none of Britain’s major lenders would need to raise extra capital if the country crashed out of the EU, the first time it had come to such a conclusion since it started stress-testing banks in 2014. But the chances of a hard Brexit were increased by the prospect of a snap election in Ireland, which could be called as ea...
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