Forexpros – European stocks rose on Tuesday, boosted by better-than-expected German economic growth data, although investors remained cautious ahead of a string of key economic reports from the euro zone and the U.S.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.90%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rallied 1.16%.
Sentiment found support after official data earlier showed that Germany’s economy slowed less-than-expected in the second quarter, as exports and household spending helped to fend off the impact of the sovereign debt crisis on Europe’s largest economy.
German gross domestic product rose 0.3% in the three months to June, beating expectations for a 0.2% rise and following an increase of 0.5% in the first quarter.
Investor confidence was also boosted by expectations for fresh action by the European Central Bank to shore up growth, while recent weak data out of China and Japan added to speculation that other central banks may turn to fresh easing measures as well.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as shares in French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas climbed 0.99% and 0.95%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank advanced 0.84% and 0.94%.
Peripheral lenders were also sharply higher, with Italy’s Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo surging 1.84% and 1.63%, while Spanish lenders BBVA and Banco Santander rallied 1.15% and 1.28%.
Elsewhere, auto makers added to gains. German firm Daimler saw shares jump 1.49% and rival Volkswagen climbed 0.95%, while French groups Renault and Peugeot advanced 1.41% and 0.88%.
In London, FTSE 100 climbed 0.69%, as investors eyed the release of U.K. consumer price inflation data.
Standard Chartered remained one of the session’s top gainers for the second consecutive session, rallying 6.39%, as the U.K. lender pursued talks to reach an early settlement over charges it hid USD250 billion of transactions tied to Iran.
Meanwhile, shares in Barlcays surged 1.79% and HSBC Holdings climbed 0.70%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking declined 0.22% and 0.35% respectively.
Oil and gas major Anglo American contributed to gains, with shares advancing 1.10%, as did BP, up 0.76%.
Also on the upside, mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto saw shares rise 0.48% and 0.05% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.24% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.28% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.30% gain.
Also Tuesday, official data showed that France’s economy stagnated in the second quarter, beating expectations for a 0.1% contraction.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on industrial production as well as preliminary data on second quarter gross domestic product. In addition, the ZEW Centre for Economic Research was to publish a report on economic sentiment in Germany and throughout the single currency bloc.
The U.S. was to publish official data on retail sales and producer price inflation, followed by data on business inventories.
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