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| - European equities rallied Wednesday after another record Wall Street performance, as investors eyed falling coronavirus death rates and improving global economic data, dealers said. "Global stocks have been rising on the back of the steadily improving sentiment on Wall Street and elsewhere over the past few weeks amid falling Covid-19 death rates, falling new cases in the United States, and hopes that an effective vaccine will soon be approved," ThinkMarkets analyst Fawad Razaqzada said. "Meanwhile, improving manufacturing activity in China, the US and eurozone has fuelled hopes that the recovery is well under way across the world's key economic regions." The tech-heavy Nasdaq index notched up a third straight record on Tuesday, having rocketed a mind-boggling 80 percent from its March trough. Global titans such as Apple, Samsung and Microsoft are miles ahead of the pack, boosted by solid demand as many consumers around the world stay at home. In economic data, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index rose more than expected in August, with key metrics continuing their expansion after business shutdowns caused by Covid-19 hammered factories earlier this year. "Unexpectedly strong US manufacturing boosted Wall Street overnight, lifting the S&P and the Nasdaq to fresh record highs. The momentum is carrying over into Europe," added City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta. London stocks fizzed 1.7 percent higher, while Frankfurt and Paris each soared by 2.4 percent in value approaching the half-way stage. This year's global surge in equities has also been fuelled by a vast wall of cash and central bank pledges of ultra-low interest rates for some time. "The apparent disconnect between markets and the real world gets wider and wider, fuelled by low interest rates, the prospect of more easing, but also the hope that the overall situation will continue to improve," noted IG analyst Chris Beauchamp. "Markets continue to seek the positive and ignore the negatives, but it is odd to see such relentless positivity in US markets when the pandemic has yet to subside, the economic impact is only just being felt and we have a US presidential election just a few weeks away." Asian markets struggled on Wednesday however, though tech firms tracked another record on the Nasdaq. Traders were also keeping an eye on Washington after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he would reach out to the Democrats to work on pushing through a new stimulus package for the beleaguered US economy. London - FTSE 100: UP 1.7 percent at 5,963.39 points Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 2.4 percent at 13,283.04 Paris - CAC 40: UP 2.4 percent at 5,057.86 EURO STOXX 50: UP 2.3 percent at 3,352.37 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 23,247.15 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.3 percent at 25,120.09 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,404.80 (close) New York - Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 28,645.66 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1866 from $1.1912 at 2100 GMT on Tuesday Dollar/yen: UP at 106.18 yen from 105.96 yen Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3348 from $1.3384 Euro/pound: UP at 88.88 pence from 89.00 pence Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.2 percent at $45.69 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $42.89 burs-rfj/bcp/wai
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