European stock markets headed for a sixth straight day of gains on Wednesday, boosted by solid Chinese export data and well-received corporate results.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 1% to 332.74, setting it on track for the highest close in almost three weeks.
The broader markets were boosted by better-than-expected data from China. Trade numbers for January showed exports rose 10.6% compared with a year earlier, far exceeding economists’ expectations. Markets tend to celebrate a rise in Chinese exports, because it signals a pickup in global demand. Asia markets closed higher.
On the numbers front, data showed euro-zone industrial production dropped 0.7% in December, slipping more than forecast. Shaking off the negative data, Germany’s DAX 30 index gained 1.1% to 9,582.55, and France’s CAC 40 index climbed 0.8% to 4,318.34.
U.K. stocks underperformed most of the major European indexes after the Bank of England updated its forward guidance. The central bank said it will now monitor a range of indicators such as wages, working hours, labor productivity and unemployment, rather than mainly pegging its monetary policy to an improvement in the joblessness level, as it had done since August.
Source: Marketwatch
