European stock markets closed higher this evening, supported by strong German trade figures and speculation that the US Federal Reserve may take fresh measures to turn around a slowing economic recovery.
London's FTSE ended 78 points (1.5%) higher at 5,411 while the Paris CAC gained 61 points (1.6%) to close at 3,777 and the Frankfurt DAX was up 92 points (1.5%) to 6,352 - its best finish since August 2008.
Dublin's ISEQ index followed the strong European trend and gained 50 points (1.7%) to close at 2,984. Shares in the banks were all stronger with Irish Life and Permanent up 2.7% to €1.90, AIB adding 0.5% to 92 cent and Bank of Ireland jumping over 5% to 87 cent ahead of its half yearly results on Wednesday.
US stock markets were also higher this evening as Wall Street awaited that key meeting of the Federal Reserve's interest rate-setting panel tomorrow night. The Dow Jones added 38 points (0.35%) to stand at 10,691 while the Nasdaq added 12 points (0.5%) to trade at 2,300.
Earlier in Asian trade, Tokyo's Nikkei ended down 0.7% at 9,572. Hong Kong stocks closed at their highest level in more than three months, with the Hang Seng closing up 0.6% at 21,802.
