Europe stocks rally in wake of U.S. budget deal

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Europe stocks rally in wake of U.S. budget deal
from MarketWatch.com - MarketPulse
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets rallied at the open on Wednesday on news U.S. lawmakers reached a last-minute budget deal. Europe tracked gains in Asia, where Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 1.9%, toward levels not seen since June 2011. Led by banking and energy stocks, the Stoxx Europe 600 index jumped 1.4% to 283.57. The German DAX 30 index rose 2% to 7,770.47, the French CAC 40 index jumped 1.9% to 3,709.34 and the FTSE 100 index rose 1.4% to 5,989.78. Heavyweight gainers included a 1.7% rise for HSBC Holdings PLC and a 1.9% rise for energy group Total SA .