World stocks and oil prices steadied on Thursday as investors waited to see how much help the ECB's latest funding flood could provide the euro zone and if an expected sharp hike in Russian interest rates could stabilize the ruble.

European shares nudged higher in opening deals and the dollar also halted its abrupt slide of the last few days as investors caught their breath after some sell-offs exacerbated by the year-end drop in trading volumes.

The ECB is offering banks ultra-cheap, four-year loans as part of a package of measures to add around 1 trillion euros to its balance sheet - a goal it has set with a view to pumping money into the economy to save it from deflation.

But a Reuters poll carried out this week points to only around 130 billion euro being taken. After a disappointing first round in September, it could strengthen the case for the more controversial option of sovereign bond buying.

Asian stocks sagged overnight after the decline in oil prices took a heavy toll on energy shares and hit Wall Street hard.

Oil ticked higher in early European trading but remained below $65 per barrel, not far from a five-year low hit in the previous session. In the meantime, gold dropped.

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