Global stocks rise --

NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters): Better-than-expected economic data in Germany and gains in US mega-cap growth stocks helped pushed world stock markets broadly higher Thursday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole symposium for insights into the central bank's plans to combat inflation.
The start of the Federal Reserve's annual monetary policy conference begins Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The focus sits squarely on how much higher US interest rates might need to go and remain high if inflation does not significantly fall from its current 40-year highs.
"It's all treading water until we get a hold on what Fed chief (Jerome) Powell has to say at Jackson Hole," said Saxo Bank's head of FX strategy, John Hardy.
GDP data from Europe's largest economy, Germany, brought relief too. News that the country narrowly avoided a contraction in the second quarter and better-than-feared confidence data briefly lifted the battered euro back above dollar parity.
The euro fell back under $1 by the time details from last month's European Central Bank meeting - where it hiked its rates by a bumper 50 basis points (bps) - showed concerns among policymakers that inflation is becoming entrenched.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose 0.51 per cent following gains in Europe and Japan.