European stocks rebound on China liquidity boost

  LONDON: European stock markets advanced Tuesday as China's central bank injected liquidity to ease fears of a cash crunch in the Asian powerhouse economy and the IMF revised up its global growth forecast.
In afternoon deals, London's FTSE 100 index of top companies rose 0.35 per cent to 6,860.37, boosted also by talk that the International Monetary Fund was about to lift its economic growth forecasts for Britain.
The euro fell against the dollar and British pound.
Meanwhile: Asian equities also rallied on Tuesday after the People's Bank of China (PBoC) said late on Monday that it had provided short-term liquidity to some large commercial banks to avert a potential cash crunch.
The central bank also injected 255 billion yuan ($41.8 billion) worth of funds into the interbank market Tuesday.
European stocks had diverged  Monday in subdued deals after official data revealed a Chinese economic slowdown last year.
Meanwhile: US stocks Tuesday opened higher amid mostly positive corporate earnings reports as markets resumed trade following Monday's Martin Luther King holiday.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.29 percent to 16,505.70 points.
In foreign exchange activity Tuesday, the European single currency slid to $1.3540 from $1.3552 late on Monday in New York.
The euro dipped to 82.16 pence from 82.48 pence Monday, while the pound rose to $1.6480 from $1.6414.
Gold prices slipped to $1,247.75 an ounce from $1,255.75  Monday on the London Bullion Market.