European stocks bounce as Ukraine fears ease

LONDON: European stock markets rebounded sharply Monday as traders breathed a sigh of relief over easing tensions in east Ukraine and gains by Western-backed forces in Iraq.
Frankfurt's main DAX index added 1.68 per cent to end the day at 9,245.33.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 gained 0.78 per cent at 6,741.25 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 rose 1.35 per cent to 4,230.65 points, compared with Friday's close.
"European markets were largely following through on Friday's late recovery from the huge sell-off sparked by a clash between Ukrainian and Russian military forces," said Jasper Lawler, a market analyst at CMC Markets.
Europe's stock markets slid on Friday as news that Ukrainian artillery had destroyed part of a Russian military column spooked investors.
"European equities are leading the way, as there is a growing sense that it is now safe to get back in the water," said David Madden at IG Markets.
US stocks also pushed higher, with a new bid in a fight for the country's largest dollar-store stirring up retailer shares.
Dollar Tree announced plans to acquire rival Family Dollar for $9.2 billion (6.9 billion) including debt in a deal that would create a discount retailer with more than 13,000 stores across North America
In mid-afternoon deals, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.01 per cent at 16,831.26.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.86 per cent at 1,971.79, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gained 0.98 per cent to 4,508.80.
In European corporate news, shares in Vivendi ended the day up 1.12 per cent after reports that Telecom Italia may offer up to 7 billion euros ($9.4 billion) for its Brazilian broadband unit GVT.
Exports from the 18-nation single currency zone dipped by 0.5 per cent in June compared with May to 162.2 billion euros, the Eurostat statistics agency said.
In foreign exchange deals Monday, the euro fell to $1.3356 from $1.3397 late on Friday in New York.
The European single currency inched down to 79.88 pence from 80.25 pence on Friday, while the pound rose to $1.6720 from $1.6694.
The British pound won support from comments over the weekend from Bank of England governor Mark Carney that improving wage growth was not a prerequisite for increasing interest rates.
They stood in contrast to a report last week, which the market concluded meant the BoE would wait until at least the start of next year before rising its record-low interest rate of 0.50 per cent.
Russia's central bank, meanwhile, announced Monday it would intervene less to support the ruble as it works toward letting the currency float freely by the end of the year despite considerable turbulence due to the crisis in Ukraine.
Elsewhere on Monday, the price of gold gained to $1,96.75 an ounce from $1,296 Friday on the London Bullion Market.