by Elaine Frei

Europe’s markets were higher on Wednesday, with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 adding 1.65 percent to 1,302.78 while the CAC-40 was up 1.56 percent to 4,855.1 in Paris, the IBEX was 1.71 percent higher to 13,637.6 in Madrid, and the Dax gained 1.79 percent to 6,702.84 in Frankfurt.

In London, the FTSE 100 added 2.36 percent to 6,046.2 while the FTSE 250 gained 1.89 percent to 10,091.2.

Asia-Pacific equities markets were mostly higher, but there were exceptions: the Hang Seng dropped 0.1 percent to 23,878.35 in Hong Kong and as the Shanghai Composite fell 1.69 percent to 3,291.6 on a reduced outlook from power companies.

The Sensex added 0.56 percent to 16,244.19, the Kospi was up 0.94 percent to 1,758.56, the Straits Times Index was 1.01 percent higher to 3,087.49, the Sydney Ordinaries gained 1.26 percent to 5,534.6 and the S&P/ASX200 was up 1.29 percent to 5,470.3 in Australia, and Taiwan’s Taiex was 1.58 percent higher to 9,066.04.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 1.2 percent to 13,146.13 while the Topix index was up 1.27 percent to 1,271.88 and the Mothers market gained 0.72 percent to 594.33.

The New York equities markets were higher in mid-afternoon trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.28 percent to 12,520.42 while the Nasdaq Composite had gained 2.12 percent to 2,334.53 and the S&P 500 was 1.42 percent higher to 1,353.32.

Crude oil and metals prices were higher, with a new record high reached for crude in New York, while grains prices were mixed.

The US dollar and the British pound both touched new record lows in relation to the euro during the session.

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