World stock markets ticked higher on Wednesday as brighter corporate results offset gloomy economic news from Asia and as oil prices plumbed 13-month lows as ample supply offset disruption risks posed by tensions in Iraq and Libya. European shares gained ground, helped in part by forecast-beating results from bellwethers such as Swiss Life (SLHN.VX) – whose stock jumped 3.5 percent after the open. The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent, with MSCI’s world stock index .MIWD00000PUS up 0.6 percent. Recent market anxiety over the standoff between Russia and Ukraine ebbed slightly after Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said late on Tuesday that the possibility of Russia’s military invading eastern Ukraine has receded after Moscow agreed to send in humanitarian aid under Red Cross auspices. Russian shares rose 0.4 percent on the reports that the aid convoy would cross the border […]