European stock markets recorded sharp gains this evening, as confidence in the pace of economic recovery was boosted by upbeat US services sector data.
In London, the FTSE climbed 1.4% to close at 5,636, led by mining shares and TUI Travel, which gained 4.2% to 226p. In Paris, the CAC rose 2.3% to 3,732, while in Frankfurt the DAX added 1.3% to 6,216.
In Dublin, the ISEQ index closed 42 points (1.6%) higher at 2,711. Building materials shares performed well, with CRH up 2.3% to €12.32 and Kingspan gaining 3.6% to €6.05. Airlines were also strong. Aer Lingus climbed 4.8% to €1.10 and Ryanair added 3.9% to €4.01.
On Wall Street, markets soared after the US services figures, which showed that the sector grew by more than expected last month. The Dow Jones was 1.5% ahead at 10,914, while the Nasdaq was up 2% at 2,391.
Earlier, Tokyo's Nikkei closed 1.5% higher at 9,519 as the market was boosted by a surprise announcement of a zero-interest rate policy from the Bank of Japan. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong inched 0.1% higher to end at 22,639.
