Shares on Europe's largest bourses gained ground in opening deals after gains on Wall Street on Friday and amid relief Hurricane Dennis has not caused as much damage as feared, dealers said. At 8.15 am, the STOXX 50 was up 12.24 points at 3089.32 and the STOXX 600 was up 1.14 points at 279.61 as oil prices dropped below 59 usd a barrel in Asian trade. Shares in the oil sector were further pressured as Statoil, Royal Dutch and Shell were downgraded to 'hold' from 'buy' at Deutsche Bank on valuation grounds. Royal Dutch was 0.81 pct lower. Total was down 0.29 pct. Danone led the fallers -- down 1.35 pct -- as profit-takers moved in after last weeks speculation-driven gains. VNU tumbled 2.96 pct after news it is taking over US healthcare data provider IMS Health Inc in an agreed cash-and-stock deal worth 5.8 bln eur. Some dealers said the price-tag seems high. Investors switched into technology stocks instead. Philips rose 1.9 pct, Alcatel added 1.56 pct.