World markets up amid recovery hopes

蓉儿

LONDON (AP) -- World stock markets mostly rose Friday, with Japan's main index hitting a ten-month high, amid mounting investor optimism that the global economy is emerging from recession sooner than expected.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 10.60 points, or 0.2 percent, at 4,766.06 while Germany's DAX rose 11.83 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,412.94. The CAC-40 in France was 20.95 points, or 0.6 percent, higher at 3,545.34.

Earlier in Asia, stocks advanced after U.S. investors brushed off weaker than expected retail sales data and sent the Dow Jones industrial average up to a nine-month closing high.

Hopes of a swift rebound in global economic growth had emerged earlier with the news that France and Germany, Europe's two biggest economies, surprisingly grew in the second quarter of the year as well as a fairly upbeat assessment of the state of the U.S. economy from the Federal Reserve.

"If there was any proof needed the bulls are still in control it was yesterday after the dismal retail sales figures came in over half a percent below expectations," said Ian Horsley, an indices trader at Spreadex.

"The test for today is whether the market can hold onto these gains and close the week at new highs," he added.

Hopes that the world economy will recover sooner than anticipated from its deepest recession since World War II has helped stocks around the world rally hard over the last month or so, sending major indexes to 2009 highs. Stocks usually rally around six months before actual recovery emerges in the official data.

Since the early March lows, the Dow has rallied around 45 percent, for example.

"There has been little sign of any retracement in equities since this phenomenal rally started in early March," said David Buik, markets analyst at BGC Partners.

U.S. stock futures pointed to a slight fall Friday, with Dow futures down 5 points, or 0.1 percent, at 9,383 and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures 0.2 point lower at 1,013.30.

Trading in the U.S. could well hinge on inflation data for July. Analysts expect consumer prices to have remained flat in July following June's energy related increase.

Optimism about global growth prospects and rising prices for metals like copper lifted commodity stocks. Miner Rio Tinto was up 2 percent in Sydney, commodities trader Noble Group jumped 3 percent in Singapore, and Japanese oil explorer Inpex gained 1.8 percent in Tokyo.

Oil prices rose to near $71 as investors brushed off the weak U.S. retail news, betting instead the world's largest crude consumer will recover later this year. Benchmark crude for September delivery was up 33 cents to $70.85 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average added 80.14 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at a 10-month high of 10,597.33, while South Korea's Kospi gained 1.7 percent to 1,591.41. Australia's benchmark was up 0.6 percent and Singapore's main index advanced 0.5 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng recovered losses to close up 32.03 points, or 0.2 percent, at 20,893.33 while China's Shanghai index tumbled 3 percent as investors there fretted about the strength of the recovery in Asia's second-biggest economy.

The dollar fell 0.3 percent to 95 yen while the euro dropped 0.1 percent to $1.4271.

AP Business Writer Stephen Wright in Bangkok contributed to this report.