European shares edge higher, FTSE hits new peak

The pan-European STOXX 600 index , which climbed to a one-year high earlier this week, was up 0.1 percent at the close, while Britain's blue-chip FTSE 100 was also up 0.1 percent after reaching an all-time high of 7,211.96 points. Persimmon rose 7.2 percent after Britain's second-biggest housebuilder by volume said sales had risen 15 percent since Britons voted in June to leave the European Union. "With solid increases in average selling prices and legal completions, Persimmon’s growth con