World stocks push higher despite gloom

LONDON (AFP) - European and Asian stock markets mostly rallied on Wednesday after Wall Street bounced higher overnight despite more gloomy economic data highlighting the worst recession in decades. In late morning European trade, London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares was up 0.17 percent to 3,720.37 points after strong gains on Tuesday.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 jumped 1.51 percent and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 1.17 percent.
“However tired we all are of the crisis and the enormous uncertainty, however much we want happy times back, we remain sceptical of the current episode of risk appetite,” VTB Capital analyst Ivan Ivanchenko said of Tuesday’s sharp rebound.
“US retail sales (data on Thursday) may well serve as a reminder of the harsh reality.”
After a tough start to the week that saw new 26-year lows, Japan’s Nikkei-225 index bounced back to finish the day up 4.55 percent. Hong Kong rallied 2.0 percent, Seoul jumped 3.23 percent, Sydney gained 1.88pc and Taipei was up 1.9pc by the close.
“Rallies in equity markets overnight are being extended in Asia and are a valid reason for investor cheer when good news has been hard to come by of late,” said Societe Generale strategist Patrick Bennett. “We don’t believe the last couple of sessions will have marked a turning point. The global economy is far from out of the woods,” he added
Japan core machinery orders fell in January for a fourth straight month, the longest consecutive downturn on record, while China said exports were down more than 25 percent year-on-year in February — a worse-than-expected decline. Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 5.8 percent and the Nasdaq soared 7.1 percent.