European stocks jump at open; London up 1.96pc

LONDON: Europe's main stock markets jumped in opening trade on Tuesday, after bumper gains in Asia and on Wall Street, with London surging as investors played catch-up following a three-day holiday weekend.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares leapt 1.96 percent to 5,230.26 points as traders returned to action after a bank holiday on Monday.

Elsewhere, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index gained 0.77 percent to 5,713.53 points and in Paris the CAC 40 won 1.03 percent to 3,186.77 points.

Asian shares rose for a second straight day on Tuesday after another Wall Street rally followed a better-than-expected batch of US consumer spending data.

New York surged on Monday as upbeat data on consumer spending lifted hopes that economic growth would pick up speed, while Hurricane Irene caused less damage than feared.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by a hefty 2.26 percent to close at 11,539.25 points.

Both Frankfurt and Paris had soared by more than 2.0 percent on Monday, lifted by better-than-expected US consumer spending figures and hopes US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver if the economy needs another boost.

Sentiment was bolstered by news of a Greek merger between Alpha Bank and Eurobank, with a sizable Qatari investment.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011