European Markets Climbed After Strong Performance In Asia

(RTTNews) - The European markets climbed again Wednesday, extending their gains to a third consecutive session. The strong performance of the Asian markets overnight, particularly the 7.7 percent surge in Japan's NIKKEI 225, sparked sharp gains in early trade. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to cut corporate tax rates to shore up economic growth.

China's Shanghai Composite Index also jumped by 2.3 percent, adding to the 2.9 percent gain posted in the previous session. The continued strength among Chinese stocks is partly due to optimism that the government will take additional steps to support the economy.

The markets finished off their intraday highs after early enthusiasm began to fade in the afternoon. The unexpected drop in the U.K.'s industrial output also had a negative impact on sentiment.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 1.12 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 1.49 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed by 0.31 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose by 1.44 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. gained 1.35 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 1.27 percent.

In Frankfurt, BMW rose by 1.89 percent after Morgan Stanley raised it to "Overweight" from "Equalweight." Daimler increased by 1.43 percent and Volkswagen added 1.80 percent.

RWE dropped by 1.88 percent and E.ON lost 0.52 percent.

In Paris, Air France-KLM lost 0.48 percent. The company reported that traffic in August, measured in terms of revenue pax-kilometers, increased 2.1 percent to 25.76 billion from 25.22 billion in the previous year.

Renault advanced by 2.75 percent and Peugeot gained 1.80 percent. Car parts maker Valeo also increased by 3.38 percent.

In London, GlaxoSmithKline fell by 1.24 percent. A study of its Relvar/Breo Ellipta 100/25mcg failed to meet its primary endpoint in the treatment of COPD.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets advanced by 3.47 percent, after it agreed to sell 140 M local convenience stores for about 25 million pounds in cash, to a team led by retail entrepreneur Mike Greene and backed by Greybull Capital LLP.

Ryanair climbed by 5.18 percent after the Irish airline lifted its forecast for 2016.

Mining stocks turned in another strong performance. Anglo American surged by 5.54 percent and Glencore added 4.80 percent. BHP Billiton climbed by 3.68 percent and Rio Tinto rose by 2.94 percent.

Volvo gained 2.00 percent in Stockholm, following a positive broker recommendation.

Engineering firm ABB lowered its revenue growth target for 2015-2020, reflecting reduced macroeconomic expectations. However, the company reaffirmed all other targets for profitability. The stock dipped by 0.05 percent in Zurich.

U.K. industrial production dropped unexpectedly and the visible trade gap widened to the highest level in a year in July largely due to a strong pound, suggesting a weak start to the third quarter.

Industrial output dropped 0.4 percent on a monthly basis in July, having had an equivalent fall in the prior month, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. Economists had forecast 0.1 percent growth for July. This was the second consecutive fall in production.

UK visible trade deficit widened for a second straight month in July to its biggest level in a year, exceeding economists' expectations, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday. The deficit in the trade in goods rose to GBP 11.082 billion from GBP 8.507 billion in June. Economists had forecast a GBP 9.5 billion shortfall.

British shop prices declined for the twenty-eighth consecutive month in August, defying expectations for a slower drop, the British Retail Consortium said on Wednesday. Shop prices fell 1.4 percent year-over-year in August, the same rate of decrease as in the previous month. Economists had forecast only a 0.2 percent drop for the month.