European markets rebound on China data

LONDON: European stock 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.
Markets were also lifted by upbeat comments on Tuesday by US Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen suggesting that the US jobs market might continue to pick up.
On top of that, official Chinese data showed that the world's second-biggest economy had expanded by more than expected in the second quarter of this year.
US stocks were higher in New York too, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by 0.35 per cent at 17,120.86 points in midday trading.
The broad-based S&P 500 had added 0.36 per cent to 1,980.35, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.35 per cent to 4,4431.68.
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.
Alstom's share price rallied 2.20 per cent to 27.15 euros.
In Lisbon, shares in crisis-hit Banco Espirito Santo, which had shed another 14.61 per cent on Tuesday to a record low of 0.38 euros, rallied with a gain of 19.74 per cent to 0.45 euros at the close.
"Statements that shareholders in Banco Espirito Santo are willing to inject more capital after a second affiliate failed to repay short-term debt" underpinned the stock, according to Daniel Sugarman at ETX Capital.
Meanwhile Portugal Telecom threatened legal action against a holding company in the bank for a debt of 847 million euros ($1.15 billion) which was unpaid by a deadline on Tuesday. The holding company Rioforte is expected to seek protection from creditors.
Shares in Portugal Telecom, which had fallen by 36.7 per cent since the end of June, gained 3.28 per cent to 1.89 euros after it agreed to new, less favourable terms on a tie-up with Brazilian group Oi in view of the unpaid debt.
On the foreign exchange market, the European single currency dipped to a one-month low at $1.3529, from $1.3570 late Tuesday in New York.
The British pound eased to $1.7130 from $1.7142 on Tuesday. The euro slipped to 78.97 pence from 79.15 pence. In commodity trades, gold declined to $1,301 per ounce from $1,310 on Tuesday.