European Markets Rallied On Energy & Resource Strength

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Wednesday's session with strong gains. A bullish oil price forecast from OPEC is provided a boost to energy stocks. OPEC said it expects the price of its crude oil to rise back toward $70 a barrel by 2020. Mining and precious metal stocks also turned in a strong performance, on continued hopes for further Chinese stimulus measures.

It was a light day for economic data in the Eurozone, but there was a flurry of U.S. economic reports released in the afternoon. The bulk of the U.S. data came in better than anticipated.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 2.25 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 3.06 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 2.28 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 2.34 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. gained 2.60 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 2.23 percent.

In Frankfurt, RWE jumped 6.24 percent and E.ON added 5.83 percent. The two utilities have signed an agreement to jointly sell their respective 18.4 percent and 10 percent shareholding in the Luxembourg utility Enovos International S.A.

ThyssenKrupp climbed 7.01 percent and peer Salzgitter advanced 4.88 percent.

Deutsche Bank increased 3.48 percent and Commerzbank rose 2.48 percent.

BMW advanced 2.28 percent and Daimler gained 2.04 percent. Volkswagen also finished higher by 2.08 percent.

In Paris, Technip leaped 5.88 percent and Total added 3.19 percent.

EDF rose 4.42 percent and Schneider Electric climbed 3.62 percent.

In London, AstraZeneca gained 2.60 percent. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved AstraZeneca's Zurampic or lesinurad to treat high levels of uric acid in the blood or hyperuricemia associated with gout, when used in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor.

Panmure Gordon & Co. plunged 19.88 percent. The company announced that it now expects to report a loss of GBP4.0 million to GBP4.5 million for the full year.

Mining stocks extended recent gains on hopes for further Chinese stimulus measures. Anglo American surged 9.06 percent and Glencore leaped 8.45 percent. BHP Billiton increased 6.88 percent and Rio Tinto added 6.11 percent. Antofagasta also gained 4.07 percent.

BG Group climbed 6.28 percent and Royal Dutch Shell rose 4.79 percent. BP advanced 4.48 percent and Tullow Oil jumped 10.12 percent.

ArcelorMittal surged 11.08 percent in Amsterdam.

French consumer spending declined for a second consecutive month in November and at the biggest pace since the start of 2014, mainly due to lower energy consumption and weaker spending on clothing, the INSEE said Wednesday.

Household spending dropped 1.1 percent from October, when it fell 0.2 percent. Economists had expected a modest 0.1 percent gain.

The U.K. economy grew slightly less than initially estimated in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. Gross domestic product climbed 0.4 percent from the second quarter, which was revised down from 0.5 percent estimated previously.

Personal income and spending in the U.S. both rose at the same rate in the month of November, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. The report said personal income increased by 0.3 percent in November after climbing by 0.4 percent in October. Economists had expected income to edge up by 0.2 percent.

The Commerce Department said personal spending also rose by 0.3 percent in November, while revised data showed spending was unchanged in October. The increase in spending matched economist estimates.

After reporting a sharp increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing that durable goods orders came in roughly flat in November.

The report said durable goods orders were virtually unchanged in November after surging up by 2.9 percent in October. Orders had been expected to pull back by about 0.5 percent.

New home sales in the U.S. increased for the second consecutive month in November, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. The Commerce Department said new home sales climbed 4.3 percent to an annual rate of 490,000 in November from the revised October rate of 470,000.

Economists had expected new home sales to rise 2.0 percent to a rate of 505,000 from the 495,000 originally reported for the previous month.