European shares registered their biggest daily gain in more than three months on Wednesday, on strong manufacturing data from the United States and China, the world's two biggest economies. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares rose 2.9 percent to close at 1,055.69 points, its biggest one-day percentage rise since May 27.
The index lost 1.7 percent last month, but Wednesday's rise took it back into positive territory for 2010. Miners were the standout gainers, as the price of copper and other metals gained on a better outlook. A weaker dollar also helped. Antofagasta, Kazakhmys, Rio Tinto and Xstrata rose between 6 and 6.9 percent.
Energy companies gained as crude prices headed higher, despite a rise in oil stockpiles. Total, BP and Royal Dutch Shell rose between 2.1 and 3.5 percent. HSBC's China Purchasing Managers' Index rose in August to a three-month high of 51.9 from 49.4 in July, pointing to a moderate improvement in the manufacturing sector as both output and new orders resumed growth.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX both ended the day 2.7 percent higher; France's CAC 40 rose 3.8 percent. Cable & Wireless World-wide surged 7.7 percent, with traders citing talk of bid interest from US rival AT&T. The British telecoms company would not comment.
TUI Travel, Europe's largest travel company, climbed 7.5 percent after the Financial Times Deutschland reported majority shareholder TUI AG was considering buying the shares in the London-listed company it does not already own. German group TUI AG gained 5.1 percent. Vivendi, Europe's largest telecom and entertainment group, rose 5 percent after strong results, helping the media sector index to a gain of 3 percent.
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