European stock markets pushed sharply higher today, building on Asian gains after Shanghai avoided a sharp selloff on its return from holidays and banks were buoyed by HSBC's decision to stay in London.
Frankfurt and Paris jumped around three percent and London won over two per cent, while Athens surged seven per cent and Milan soared nearly four percent in value.
The mood also brightened as Japanese investors shrugged off an economic contraction to propel Tokyo stocks more than seven per cent today, leading an Asia recovery after last week's horror show.
Shanghai fell 0.6 per cent - but losses were modest considering traders were playing catch-up with last week's bloodbath across world stock markets.
"No severe sell-off in Chinese markets, after a week's holiday, has allowed London-listed financial stocks to break out of the doghouse and lead the FTSE higher, buoyed by HSBC's decision to stay in the City," CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler told AFP.
Markets had jumped higher on Friday, ending a brutal week on a positive note following solid US and German economic data and an increase in oil prices.
Asia-focused banking titan HSBC saw its share price rise 1.3 percent to 445.95 pence in London today, as investors welcomed news it would keep its headquarters in the British capital.
The lender's Hong Kong-listed stock meanwhile rallied more than four per cent.
The news also lifted other banking stocks in London, with Lloyds Banking Group up 2.8 per cent and Royal Bank of Scotland adding 2.5 per cent.
"HSBC's decision to keep its headquarters in London is a fillip for the City and the Treasury," said Russ Mould, investment director at trading firm AJ Bell.
"The government will be relieved that HSBC's board decided unanimously to stay in the UK."
Asian markets enjoyed a broadly healthy start to the week, but another poor trade report reinforced fears over China's outlook.
Experts warned the gains were unlikely to be sustained for a long period, with the concerns that have wiped trillions off markets already this year - including the weak global economy and China's slowdown - still unresolved.
Tokyo soared 7.2 per cent by the close after losses of more than 11 per cent last week that were fuelled by a surging yen as dealers fled into safe-haven investments.
