A Look At Economic Developments Around The Globe

The Associated Press

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Friday:

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LONDON — The 16-country eurozone has officially joined the United States and Japan out of recession, after figures showed its economy grew by 0.4 percent in the third quarter from the previous three-month period. However, the rise reported by the EU's statistics office Eurostat was not as large as the 0.6 percent most economists had been predicting, as growth in major economies fell short of forecasts. With a rebound in exports partially offset by weak household spending, Germany's economy grew by 0.7 percent and France's by 0.3 percent. Still, the third quarter rise in eurozone output was the first in six quarters and brings to an end Europe's sharpest recession since World War II. Though the eurozone's banks were not at the epicenter of the financial crisis that triggered the global economic downturn, the region suffered as demand for its high-value products fell off a cliff.

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LONDON — European stock markets recouped earlier losses thanks to solid earnings reports from two of the United States' leading retailers that boosted confidence about the pace of economic recovery. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed 0.4 percent higher at 5,296.38, Germany's DAX added 0.4 percent to 5,686.83, and France's CAC-40 slipped 0.1 percent to 3,806.01. In midday trading in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.8 percent at 10,276.07, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.6 percent to 1,093.94. The gains came in the wake of better-than-expected earnings from teen clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and an improved outlook from department-store chain J.C. Penney Co. Without the help of the consumer, who accounts for around 70 percent of the U.S. economy, any global economic recovery will be modest.