European stocks rise to near 2-week highs

March 16 (Reuters): European stocks rose to near two-week highs on Wednesday after China promised to roll out more stimulus to boost its economy, while hopes of progress in Ukraine-Russia peace talks kept the mood buoyant.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 2.2pc, hitting its highest since March 3.
Battered stock markets in China and Hong Kong surged after Vice Premier Liu He said Beijing will roll out more measures to boost the Chinese economy as well as favourable policy steps for its capital markets.
Dutch tech investor Prosus (PRX.AS), which has a huge stake in China's Tencent (0700.HK), surged nearly 20pc after hitting all-time lows in the previous session. The stock led the wider technology index (.SX8P) up nearly 4.7pc.
Other China-exposed sectors such as miners (.SXPP) and autos (.SXAP) were up between 2.1pc and 3.2pc. Luxury stocks LVMH (LVMH.PA), Richemont and Hermes , also reliant on China for a large part of their revenue, gained between 4.8pc and 7.8pc.
"The hope of a turning point in Chinese equities is boosting global stocks and the importance of China to the global economy cannot be understated," said Roger Jones, head of equities at London & Capital.