Wednesday July 1, 12:17 PM
European equities make bullish start
LONDON (AFP) - Europe's leading stock markets rallied on Wednesday in a positive start to the third quarter, as investors set aside losses elsewhere and examined encouraging eurozone data.
In late morning trading, London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose 1.36 percent to 4,307.41 points.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 (Xetra: news) advanced 1.32 percent to 4,872.29 points and the Paris CAC 40 soared 1.53 percent to 3,188.48 points nearing the half-way stage.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares climbed 1.30 percent to 2,433.31 points.
On the foreign exchange market, the European single currency increased to 1.4067 dollars.
Wall Street ended the second quarter on Tuesday in a slump after a surprise fall in consumer confidence dented hopes that spending will lead the country out of recession.
But European markets were boosted on Wednesday by news that manufacturing activity in the 16 countries using the euro hit a nine-month high point in June.
The eurozone's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector, compiled by data and research group Markit, rose to 42.6 points from 40.7 points in May, slightly above an earlier estimate of 42.4.
"The figures are relative good news for eurozone economic activity," said Newedge Group analysts.
"Signs of stabilisation have emerged in the last few months. However, we need to keep in mind that the recent stabilisation is occurring at very low levels and there are no signs of acceleration near term," they added.
In Asia on Wednesday, Japanese share prices ended slightly lower as investors took profits after a key index of business confidence rose by less than expected, dealers said.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei (news) -225 index lost 18.51 points, or 0.19 percent, to end at 9,939.93, a day after ending at a two-week high.
The Nikkei topped 10,000 points at one point during the day but failed to hold above the key level.
"As the index topped 10,000, it was a good time to sell," said Hideaki Higashi, a strategist at SMBC Friend Securities.
The Bank of Japan said in its quarterly Tankan survey that business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers had improved for the first time in two-and-a-half years.
The sentiment index rose to minus 48 in June from a record low of minus 58 in March. Market forecasts had been for a figure of about minus 43.
In New York trade on Tuesday, Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.97 percent to close at 8,447.00 points.
The Conference Board, a business research group, said its consumer confidence index retreated to 49.3 points in June from a revised 54.8 in May.
Most analysts had expected a much stronger reading of 55.3 points in the 100-point index.
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