"There is nothing then left to undercut the upwards trend we have seen over the past few days," Hotton added. Elsewhere in Europe, Amsterdam added 0.54 percent, Brussels rose 0.56, Madrid was flat, Milan put on 1.01 percent and Swiss stocks gained 0.68 percent. In New York, stocks were up sharply in early trade on the ADP lead and positive corporate news. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.60 percent at around 1600 GMT, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.56 percent. Andrew Fitzpatrick of Hinsdale Associates said the market got a boost from the ADP figures while concerns over Japan were easing as investors looked forward to a solid economic recovery. Earlier Wednesday, Asian stocks rose after a strong overnight performance on Wall Street, with Tokyo rebounding sharply thanks to a weaker yen despite continued caution over Japan's nuclear crisis. Tokyo gained 2.64 percent as the yen tumbled a second senior Federal Reserve official talked up the possible tightening of monetary policy. Hong Kong added 1.70 percent but Shanghai was flat while Sydney added 1.40 percent.