The European rally is back
European stocks popped on Wednesday, renewing a two-day rally brought to an end on Tuesday, when markets across the continent fell.
At the close, all major European bourses were at least 2% in the green, with most enjoying bumps in excess of 2.5%.
Yesterday's only gainer, the FTSE 100, enjoyed another great day, popping by 2.93% to close back above the 6,000 point mark for the first time in more than two weeks. Here's the chart:
The FTSE's surge on the day was led by industrial and commodity stocks, in particular Glencore, which jumped by nearly 14%. That came after the company announced this morning that it is refinancing $8.45 billion worth of loans. Anglo American, which tanked after its annual results yesterday, also roared back. It was the second largest riser, up more than 13%.
On the continent, France was close to the top of the pile, with the CAC 40 popping by 2.84%, led by banking giant Credit Agricole. The bank announced plans to simplify its structure this morning, sending shares soaring. It ended the day almost 14% in the green. Here's the chart:
- Germany's DAX 30 - up 2.63%
- Spain's IBEX 35 - up 2.73%
- Eurostoxx 50 - up 2.82%
- Italy's FTSE MIB - up 2.30%
- The Netherlands' AEX - up 2.61%
- Portugal's PSI 20 - up 3.03%
Wednesday's gains across Europe, particularly in commodity stocks, was driven by oil. The price of the world's most important commodity jumped by as much as 7% on the day, helped by Iran's oil minister Bijan Zanganeh saying that he "supports efforts by OPEC members to keep prices stable."
Both major oil benchmarks, West Texas Intermediate, and Brent crude, are trading well above $30 per barrel, after American crude slipped below that mark in overnight trading. At the time of the European close, Brent is up 6.8% to $34.38, while WTI is trading at $30.75, gaining 6%.