LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - European equity markets pushed higher on Tuesday, buoyed by the prospect of a fresh stimulus injection by China's central bank.
The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index closed up 1.18%, while France's CAC 40 rose 1.07% and Germany's DAX advanced 1.64%.

The euro gained 0.25% and 0.46% against the dollar and the yen respectively, but rereated 0.40% against the pound, while Brent crude futures surged 3.5% to $49.38 a barrel.

Tuesday Eurozone data impresses

Growth in the Eurozone in the second quarter was stronger than originally estimated, according to figures released by Eurostat.

Gross domestic product expanded 0.4% from the first quarter, up from an initial estimate of 0.3% as a slowdown in household consumption and a drop in investment spending was offset by stronger exports.

On the year, GDP was 1.5% higher, up from a previous estimate of 1.2%.

"The conditions remain in place for a modest Eurozone cyclical upturn, and it some encouragement can be taken from the fact that overall Eurozone business and consumer confidence rose to a four-year high in August according to the European Commission," said Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight.

Figures out of Germany were also encouraging, showing the trade balance hit its highest surplus on record in July. It grew to €22.8bn from a revised €22.1bn in June, according to data from the federal statistics office, to mark the highest level since records began in 1991 and better than forecasts.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and China's Shanghai Composite both posted strong gains despite the release of mixed data, which showed exports shrank for the second month, although not as much as feared. China's exports declined by 5.5% in August in dollar terms compared to the same month last year, better than consensus for a 6.6% fall and further decelerating following a decrease of 8.3% in July.

Imports from abroad were much weaker, with purchases decreasing at a significant 13.8% year-on-year rate in dollar terms, far exceeding the 7.9% consensus and the fall of 8.1% in July, casting some further doubt on domestic demand.

This left the trade balance surging to a $60.24bn surplus, larger than the $48bn estimated by analysts and the previous month's reading of $43.0bn.

"For all the statements and reports to the contrary, the Chinese government is going to continue to get its select band of market warriors to buoy the index and keep up the artifice of a healthy stock market," said Spreadex's financial analyst Connor Campbell.

Car makers lead the charge

In company news, shares of car makers were among the main risers, with Daimler AG gaining 2.67%, while BMW AG and Volkswagen AG rose 4.13% and 2.82% respectively.

French energy group Alstom SA climbed 1.40% after the European Union gave the green light to a proposed $17bn takeover of its power business by energy giant General Electric.

German lender Commerzbank AG surged 6.86 % after analysts at JP Morgan lifted their rating on the stock to 'overweight'

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