European markets rebound

European capital markets leapt higher on Wednesday owing to strong economic growth data from China and an improved picture in Portugal, dealers said. London’s FTSE 100 rallied 1.11 per cent to 6,784.67 points as Britain's unemployment rate hit 6.5 per cent in the three months to May – the lowest point since late 2008. Frankfurt's benchmark DAX 30 index won 1.44 per cent to 9,859.27 points meanwhile, and the Paris CAC 40 jumped 1.48 per cent to 4,369.06. Milan's stock index surged 3.17 per cent, Madrid's rose by 1.84 per cent, and Lisbon's jumped 3.07 per cent. Official Chinese data showed that the world's second-biggest economy had expanded by more than expected in the 2nd quarter of this year.
- Chinese economy picks up -
Markets worldwide perked up when China's National Bureau of Statistics said the economy grew by 7.5 per cent in April-June thanks to government stimulus measures. That figure beat the 7.4 per cent expansion in the previous three months and exceeded a median forecast of 7.4 per cent from a survey of 17 economists by AFP. Mining stocks were among those boosted because China is a big consumer of metals. In London, Rio Tinto shares gained 2.77 per cent to 3,334.50 pence and Anglo American won 3.30 per cent to 1,564 pence. ‘More good news from China has engendered a strong bounce with miners leading the way,’ noted IG analyst Brenda Kelly. Shares in Germany heavy industry giant ThyssenKrupp gained 1.50 per cent to 22.37 euros in Frankfurt. And in Paris, the French power-to-rail group Alstom was helped by a broker upgrade from Exane BNP Paribas as well, according to AFP.