European shares rebounded and Russian stocks surged Tuesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin said military action in Ukraine was not necessary. The eurozone blue-chip Stoxx 50 jumped 2.5 per cent to 3130 points after Putin's comments and following a big sell-off of global shares on Monday. The Russian president's remarks also contributed to a share rebound in Moscow, as well as helping the national currency, the ruble, to recover from Monday's sharp falls. While the ruble-denominated MICEX share index jumped by 5.81 per cent, the dollar-denominated RTS index climbed 6.71 per cent. After tumbling to a record low on Monday, the ruble gained 0.4 per cent to 36.38 against the dollar. The prospect that war might be averted in Ukraine also helped to drive down both the price of oil and gold. US crude fell 1.5 per cent to 103.32 dollars a barrel as fears eased in relation to a threat to energy supplies. Russia is one of the world's biggest oil producers. The price of gold - which is considered a safe investment in times of crisis - dropped 1.3 per cent to 1.333 dollars an ounce.
