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European stocks rise on better-than-expected GDP

LONDON — Europe’s main stock markets climbed in opening deals on Tuesday as investor sentiment was bolstered by better-than-expected economic growth data in France and Germany, dealers said.

Frankfurt’s benchmark DAX 30 index of leading companies added 0.80 percent to 6,965.04 points, the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.56 percent to 3,445.59 and London’s FTSE 100 firmed 0.04 percent to 5,833.93 points.

The German economy, Europe’s biggest, beat analysts’ expectations to grow by 0.3 percent in the second quarter, buoyed by rising exports and robust domestic demand, official data showed on Tuesday.

Analysts had been forecasting gross domestic product (GDP) expansion of just 0.2 percent for the period from April to June.

The French economy meanwhile registered zero growth in the second quarter, beating expectations it would begin a slide into recession amid the ongoing eurozone debt crisis.

Eurostat was to later release its flash second quarter estimate for the eurozone, which posted flat growth in the first quarter.

“Both (GDP) releases bode well for overall eurozone 2Q GDP figures out in a few hours, though markets expect continued weakness in Spanish and Italian economies,” said ETX Capital trader Ishaq Siddiqi.

“As such, expectations for stimulus action by the European Central Bank will remain firmly supported as the outlook on the whole remains poor.”

A recession is defined by economists as two consecutive quarters of contracting activity.