European shares turn positive; drugmakers gain

European shares turned positive late on Monday, with pharma stocks rising on hopes of increased demand for vaccines and defensives in general gaining ground.

At 1454 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was 0.02 percent higher at 810.58 points after falling as low as 795.54 points.

GlaxoSmithKline rose 5.5 percent, Astra Zeneca was up 3.6 percent and Sanofi-Aventis gained 2.1 percent.