Credit Agricole Helps European Stocks Rise

PAN PYLAS

LONDON (AP) — European stock markets rose sharply Wednesday and Wall Street was expected to rise on the open, helped by strong earnings from French bank Credit Agricole SA and a surprise increase in British employment levels.

The euro, meanwhile, was pushing back up towards 15-month dollar highs while the pound slid over a cent against the dollar after the Bank of England appeared to welcome the fall in the currency as a means of rebalancing the British economy away from domestic consumption towards export-led growth. A lower pound would make British exports cheaper.

Germany's DAX was up 83.55 points, or 1.5 percent, 5,696.23 while France's CAC-40 was 51.56 points, or 1.4 percent, higher at 3,837.15.

Investors in Europe were cheered by better than expected third quarter results from Credit Agricole. Its shares were up nearly 6 percent, making it the top riser on the CAC-40. Other banks rose in its slipstream, including Societe Generale SA.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 69.82 points, or 1.3 percent, at 5,300.37 — a close above 5,311 would be its best since September 2008.