Global stock markets staged a modest recovery Wednesday, boosted by strong data releases that portray a U.S. economy on the upswing. New home sales, bigger factory orders and rising consumer confidence helped allay fears about state of the U.S. economy, the world's biggest. The data came on the heels of comments by China's central bank that eased fears of a credit crunch in the world's No. 2 economy. Developments in both countries helped boost appetite for stocks, analysts said, according to AP. "The firmer data came alongside soothing comments from China's central bank about liquidity conditions in the banking sector," Mitul Kotecha at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in a commentary. China's central bank caused a global rout in markets on Monday after it moved to curb so-called shadow banking - unregulated lending to companies starved of credit by traditional banks. Investors worried that would cause an increase in borrowing rates for companies, hurting business. On Tuesday, the central bank issued a statement saying it would act to keep credit markets functioning, if needed. Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.8 percent to 6,147.89. Germany's DAX rose 1.2 percent to 7,902.70. France's CAC-40 gained 1.2 percent to 3,694.77. Wall Street appeared set for gains. Dow Jones industrial futures rose 0.3 percent to 14,729. S&P 500 futures added 0.3 percent to 1,586.20. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4 percent to 1,951.50. But the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 2.5 percent to 901.72. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng surged 2.4 percent to 20,338.55. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1 percent to close at 12,834.01. South Korea's Kospi reversed early losses to rise 0.2 percent to 1,783.45. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.6 percent to 4,731.70. Benchmark oil for August delivery was down 43 cents to $94.95 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 14 cents to end at $95.32 a barrel on Tuesday. In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3058 from $1.3090 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar rose to 97.53 yen from 97.75 yen.
