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Market Update

European Stocks Follow Asia Higher

Shares in Europe advanced in early trade, tracking gains in Asia after robust Chinese factory data, and largely shaking off weak manufacturing data in the Euro-zone.

At the time of writing, Britain's FTSE rose 1.5%, France's CAC advanced 2.2% while Germany's DAX was trading 2% higher.

Mining stocks were among the major gainers after metal prices rose on the Chinese data. BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata climbed between 3.2% and 4.1%. In financials, Barclays, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole added about 2.8% each.

Security firm G4S Plc surged 6.3% after posting robust quarterly earnings.

Data released early showed Euro-zone manufacturing PMI slipped to 49.7 in August, compared to 50.4 in the previous. A number below 50 indicates contraction in activity.

But the report was unable to pull equities lower. Investors now await the German Zew indicator of economic activity.

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