PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European stock markets shrugged off a listless open on Wednesday and picked up steam as the day progressed, ending their sessions firmly in positive territory for the third straight day.
The markets moved higher after data showed factory output in the euro zone grew for the second straight month in June, following a marked relaxation of the coronavirus containment measures.
A rebound from technology stocks added to the positive sentiment.
Germany's DAX climbed 111.74 points or 0.86 percent to 13,058.63, while London's FTSE soared 125.78 points or 2.04 percent to 6,280.12 and the CAC 40 in France advanced 45.32 points or 0.90 percent to 5,073.31.
In Germany, Deutsche Bourse surged 2.45 percent, while RWE Aktiengesellschaft spiked 2.06 percent, Deutsche Lufthansa tumbled 1.53 percent, Deutsche Post climbed 1.44 percent, Deutsche Telekom gained 0.83 percent, Daimler added 0.77 percent, thyssenkrupp lost 0.62 percent and Deutsche Bank rose 0.28 percent.
In London, M&G surged 4.46 percent, while Royal Dutch Shell soared 2.82 percent, Tesco spiked 2.76 percent, Rightmove jumped 2.08 percent, Scottish Mortgage Investment climbed 1.75 percent, British American Tobacco advanced 1.37 percent, Vodafone added 0.86 percent, Rolls-Royce lost 0.84 percent, St. James Place rose 0.34 percent and Associated British Foods fell 0.15 percent.
In France, Carrefour spiked 2.94 percent, while Veolia Environment jumped 1.90 percent, Airbus dropped 1.65 percent, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain climbed 1.20 percent, Societe Generale added 0.72 percent, Credit Agricole gained 0.64 percent, Peugeot fell 0.38 percent and Vivendi was up 0.12 percent.
In economic news, the UK economy contracted for the second straight time in the second quarter amid the coronavirus pandemic although there was some pickup in June after government relaxed restrictions on movement, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday.
Gross domestic product contracted by 20.4 percent sequentially in the second quarter, following a 2.2 percent drop in the first quarter. Economists had forecast a quarterly fall of 20.5 percent.
The latest fall was the biggest contraction since the records began in 1955.
Also, Eurozone industrial production grew for the second straight month in June, following a marked relaxation of the coronavirus containment measures, data from Eurostat showed Wednesday.
Industrial output grew 9.1 percent on month, slower than the 12.3 percent rise in May and the 10 percent rise economists' had forecast.
On a yearly basis, the decline in industrial output slowed to 12.3 percent from 20.4 percent in the previous month. Economists had expected an annual decrease of 11.5 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX