International stock markets rally after rates cut

INTERNATIONAL stockmarkets advanced for a second day’s growth, yesterday, on the back of the European Central Bank’s unexpected interest rate cut and news that a referendum on the latest Greek bailout is now unlikely in its intended form.

The French and German national benchmark indices were the biggest climbers — the CAC-40 in Paris up by just over 2.7% and the DAX in Frankfurt gaining just over 2.8%.

London’s FTSE-100 was up by 1.12% — a 61 point rise to 5,546 points — and there were also healthy gains for the main markets in Spain and Italy.