European Shares Rise On Hopes For China Demand Revival

European stocks advanced on Tuesday amid expectations of demand revival in top consumer China after Shanghai pledged to gradually ease its Covid lockdown and return life to normal in June.

Investors also cheered data showing that Britain’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest since 1974 at 3.7 percent in the first three months of this year.

Separate data showed that the French unemployment rate fell to the lowest rate in 14 years in the first quarter, dropping to 7.3 percent.

Eurozone GDP grew 0.3 percent sequentially in the first three months of the year, up from a preliminary estimate of 0.2 percent and compared with a 0.3 percent rise in the previous quarter, Eurostat said.

The pan European Stoxx 600 jumped 1.6 percent to 440.53 after ending flat with a positive bias on Monday.

The German DAX and France’s CAC 40 index both rose about 1.4 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.7 percent.

Strong commodity prices helped lift energy stocks and miners, with BP Plc, Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore rising 1-2 percent.

Imperial Brands soared 7 percent as the tobacco giant reported a marginal increase in first-half sales after accounting for its exit from Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Contour Global jumped as much as 33 percent after U.S. private company KKR agreed to buy the power generation company for 1.75 billion pounds ($2.16 billion).

Industrial gases company Air Liquide Group advanced 1.6 percent. The company has reached an agreement with Toyota Motor Europe and Portuguese bus manufacturer CaetanoBus to develop integrated hydrogen solutions in Europe.

Power group ENGIE soared almost 6 percent after lifting guidance for the full year.

Daimler Truck Holding also jumped around 6 percent. The commercial vehicle manufacturer raised its full-year revenue guidance and backed its margin guidance for the year, despite rising raw materials prices and inflationary pressures.

Asian markets ended mostly higher and U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street later in the day as investors await earnings from retailers including Walmart and Home Depot.

Germany’s 10-year government bond yield hit an almost one-week high above 1 percent after hawkish comments from ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau.