European shares mostly rose despite a Greek bailout hanging in the balance yesterday, with supportive Chinese comments lifting sentiment.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index ended the day down 0.13 per cent at 5,892.16 points, but in Frankfurt the DAX 30 added 0.44 per cent to 6,757.94 points and in Paris the CAC 40 also gained 0.44 per cent to close at 3,390.35 points.
The single currency meanwhile slid to $1.3085 from $1.3134 late in New York on Tuesday.
Wall Street opened higher on positive new reports on manufacturing as well as signals from China of support for Europe to help with its debt crisis, but by midday the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.18 per cent to 12,855.19 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.36 per cent to 1,355.42 points, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.81 per cent to 2,955.64 points.
The US equity markets moved to the upside “following an upbeat US regional manufacturing report, and comments from China that it is ready to play a larger role in solving the eurozone debt crisis”, Charles Schwab analysts said.
In a separate report, the Fed said US industrial production rose 0.7 per cent in January from December, with solid manufacturing output growth offset by unseasonably warm winter weather that lowered heating demand from utilities.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Tuesday that the Asian powerhouse may use its massive foreign exchange reserves to help Europe, its biggest export market.
People’s Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan added yesterday that China was ready to get more involved in efforts to resolve Europe’s debt crisis.
“As Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday at the China-EU summit, China will ... continue to invest in European government bonds and will continue ... to get more involved in solving the European debt crisis,” Mr Zhou said.
Meanwhile, official data showed yesterday that the eurozone sovereign debt crisis brought economic growth across the euro area to a standstill in the fourth quarter and even pushed a number of countries into recession.