Global Markets - Stocks rise on hopes for China stimulus; euro slips on data

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major world stock markets climbed on Tuesday, helped by hopes of more stimulus for China's economy, while the euro declined against the U.S. dollar following weak German economic data.

Stocks in Shanghai <.CSI300> and Hong Kong <.HSI> surged almost 2 percent after U.S. President Trump talked up chances of a China trade deal and Chinese officials then came out in force hinting at more stimulus for their slowing economy.

That came a day after data on Monday showed China's exports unexpectedly fell the most in two years in December, while imports also contracted sharply.

"China feels some pressure to at least keep the negotiations going and that could be enough for now, for markets to have an idea that some deal is possible, perhaps in a couple of months, not anytime soon," said Jeroen Blokland, portfolio manager for multi-asset strategies at Robeco in Rotterdam.

On Wall Street, a nearly 7 percent gain in shares of Netflix , which said it was raising rates for its U.S. subscribers, helped boost stocks, while JPMorgan Chase & Co 's shares were near flat despite reporting a lower-than-expected rise in quarterly profit and revenue, hurt by weakness in bond trading.

U.S. stocks slightly pared gains after Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley said United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer did not see much progress made on structural issues during trade talks with China last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 119.24 points, or 0.5 percent, to 24,029.08, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 24.65 points, or 0.95 percent, to 2,607.26 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 111.25 points, or 1.61 percent, to 7,017.16.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index <.STOXX> rose 0.35 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe <.MIWD00000PUS> gained 0.68 percent.

Germany reported its weakest growth in five years, causing the euro to decline against the dollar.

The euro was last down 0.71 percent, at $1.1393, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> added 0.47 percent, to 1,373.38.

Sterling slipped ahead of a parliamentary vote on Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. It was last trading at $1.2719, down 1.12 percent on the day.

Worries about Britain leaving the EU at the end of March without some kind of transition deal appear to have eased, but with Prime Minister Theresa May potentially facing the biggest defeat for a government plan in 95 years, uncertainty still dominates.

May's hopes of keeping her plan alive will hinge on the scale of her expected loss in the vote. Avoiding a heavy defeat could give her the chance to ask Brussels for more concessions before trying to get the plan through parliament in another vote.

But a humiliating outcome could pressure May to delay Britain's scheduled March 29 EU departure and potentially open up other options, ranging from a second referendum, to a dangerous no-deal path or a general election.

In commodities, oil prices rebounded on supply cuts by producer club OPEC and Russia.

Brent crude was last up $1.53, or up 2.59 percent, at $60.52 a barrel. U.S. crude was last up $1.52, or up 3.01 percent, at $52.03 per barrel.

U.S. Treasury yields were mostly little changed amid negative external factors such as weak European data and concerns over the Brexit deal. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 1/32 in price to yield 2.7112 percent, from 2.71 percent late on Monday.

(Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak in New York, Marc Jones in London and Medha Singh; Editing by Bernadette Baum and James Dalgleish)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)