AFP, London :
European stock markets rebounded further Wednesday from recent heavy losses as investors snapped up bargain shares, with London winning a pre-budget uplift.
Frankfurt and Paris stocks won 0.9 percent and 0.8 percent respectively at midday in the eurozone.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index jumped 1.0 percent in late morning deals ahead of the UK government’s annual budget due Wednesday, while the pound sat just underneath $1.40.
Oil prices advanced strongly on the eve of a key OPEC+ producers’ meeting.
“It looks like a global revival in risk appetite,” IG analyst Chris Beauchamp told AFP, after spiking US bond yields sparked a markets meltdown last week.
“Once again investors have had a little tantrum and have calmed down, clearing the air for another move higher.”
In London, British finance minister Rishi Sunak’s centrepiece budget – due at 1230 GMT – will seek to tackle surging virus-fuelled debt and pave the way for England’s vaccine-driven exit from its current third lockdown.
