BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks were sharply higher on Tuesday even as the coronavirus continued to spread at an alarming rate.
Saying that the crisis was 'a major test of China's system and capacity for governance,' China's leader, Xi Jinping, has signaled a more assertive strategy for dealing with the virus outbreak.
Meanwhile, investors increased bets that China would roll out more stimulus measures to provide liquidity to markets and boost consumption amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
The optimism emerged after China's central bank unexpectedly lowered the interest rates on reverse repurchase agreements by 10 basis points on Monday as part of efforts to relieve pressure on the economy from a rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak.
The benchmark CAC 40 was up 65 points, or 1.12 percent, at 5,897 after gaining half a percent on Monday.
Banks BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale rose over 1 percent while automaker Renault added half a percent and Peugeot gained 1 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX