European stocks gained ground on Tuesday, with expectations for more stimulus from China underpinning sentiment. Also, with the U.S. markets opening today after the long weekend, investors are pinning hopes that home price and consumer price data due later in the day will signal a continued recovery in the world's largest economy.
Meanwhile, Greece provided EUR 18 billion cash boost to its four largest banks as part of the recapitalization process, the Finance Ministry said in a statement today.
"The banks now have sufficient financial resources in support of the real economy and the capital injection will help the banks to regain access to European Central Bank funding and will also restore the banks' capital adequacy level," the ministry said, easing concerns about Greece's exit from the euro zone.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is up 0.11 percent and the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is gaining 0.13 percent, while around Europe, the German DAX, France's CAC 40, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Switzerland's SMI are up between 0.2 percent and 0.8 percent.
In economic news, Spain's retail sales declined by 11.3 percent from a year earlier in April after logging a 4 percent drop in March, the statistical office INE said. On a calendar adjusted basis, sales were down 9.8 percent, sharper than the 3.8 percent fall seen in the previous month.
Separately, the British economy may see a gradual recovery in growth this year, Bank of England Chief Economist Spencer Dale said in an interview aired today. The current monetary policy is "highly stimulatory" and its effects will continue to flow through the economy, he told BBC Radio Scotland.
Elsewhere, Asian stock markets rose across the board, with key benchmark indexes in Australia, China and Hong Kong rising more than a percent each, as speculation that China may soon launch a stimulus program to boost domestic demand countered negative sentiment over Spain's deteriorating financial situation.
Crude and copper are trading mixed, while the Dow futures point to a higher opening as trading resumes after a long weekend. The dollar recovered some of its earlier losses against the euro after the Bank of Spain pointed to a continued decline in Spanish gross domestic product in the second quarter.
by RTT Staff Writer
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