Summary Asian markets mixed Thursday after a record-breaking rally on Wall Street finally came to an end.
LONDON (AFP) - Europe s main stock markets rebounded on Thursday from the previous day s falls as investors digested broadly upbeat company results.
London s benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 0.36 percent to stand at 6,634.96 points nearing midday in the British capital.
Frankfurt s DAX 30 added 0.94 percent to 9,298.26 points and in Paris the CAC 40 won 0.71 percent to 4,209.64 compared with Wednesday s closing values.
The key indices had fallen on Wednesday as global regulators fined six top European and US banks $4.2 billion (3.4 billion euros) for attempting to rig foreign exchange markets.
"European equity markets have rebounded... with bourses attempting to recoup some of the sizeable declines seen yesterday," said Atif Latif, director of trading at Guardian Stockbrokers.
The top gainer in the British capital was the London Stock Exchange, whose share price rallied 2.57 percent to 2,077 pence.
The LSE, which operates Britain s main exchange and Italy s Borsa Italiana, posted an 18-percent jump in first-half pretax profits to $215.4 million.
The LSE added that its performance was boosted by flotations and fundraising activity which lifted takings at its capital markets division.
The lender priced its shares at 283 pence -- the bottom end of the 283-333 pence range it indicated last week after it revived plans for a listing due to an improvement in stock market conditions.
The initial public offering (IPO) will raise �150 million, which the company intends to use in a drive to boost its mortgage and credit card lending in Britain.
After the float, Branson s Virgin Group will own 34 percent of the lender and Wall Street billionaire Wilbur Ross will hold 33 percent. One quarter of Virgin Money s stock will be traded on the open market.
British drinks giant SABMiller saw its shares gain 1.65 percent to 3,569.5 pence after it also revealed rising first-half profits.
Asian markets were mixed Thursday after a record-breaking rally on Wall Street finally came to an end, while China released another batch of disappointing data indicating a slowdown in the economic giant.
In Thursday s foreign exchange deals, the European single currency rose to $1.2470 from $1.2438 late in New York on Wednesday, as dealers digested the latest inflation data in France and Germany.
The British pound meanwhile sank to $1.5753 -- the lowest level since mid-September 2013 -- one day after the Bank of England appeared to push back hopes for an interest rate hike into late 2015.
The pound later stood at $1.5767, down from $1.5781 on Wednesday. The euro declined to 79.08 British pence from 78.82.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold was unchanged at $1,161 an ounce from late on Wednesday.
