European shares turn positive, oils support

European shares turned positive in early trade on Wednesday, with a rise in crude oil prices supporting energy stocks, but financials remained under pressure as UBS reported a first-quarter loss.

At 0853 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent at 792.92 points after falling as low as 780.11 points earlier in the session.

Energy stocks tracked crude oil prices, which rose 1.5 percent. BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow Oil, Total and StatoilHydro added between 0.4 and 1.6 percent.