European stocks rebound as pound under pressure again

European stocks charged higher on Tuesday, rebounding from the previous day's sharp downturn as bargain hunters, emboldened by solid US markets, pushed aside a plethora of global worries. "European equities are broadly higher in late-day action, in the wake of yesterday's battle back in the US," said analysts at Charles Schwab. Wall Street on Tuesday added to the previous day's late surge, but the Dow index was well off opening highs approaching midday in New York. The British pound was back under pressure late Tuesday, having earlier enjoyed a modest rebound as British Prime Minister Theresa May scrambled to rescue her Brexit deal. British unemployment data helped the currency as they came with unexpected wage gains, said David Cheetham, chief market analyst at traders XTB. "Having said that, this data pales into insignificance compared to the latest Brexit developments as far as the markets are concerned and on this front the ongoing uncertainty leaves the pound vulnerable to further declines," Cheetham added. - 'Extremely nervous' - Jasper Lawler at London Capital Group said that "until traders have any sense of what will happen with Brexit, they will remain extremely nervous". Other analysts echoed the sentiment that there are still more reasons to be pessimistic than not. Global risk sentiment "is facing a towering wall of worry as virtually every major economy in the world is slowing, suggesting the synchronised global slowdown is accelerating at a much faster pace than thought", said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trade at OANDA. The China-US trade row, signs of softness in both countries' economies, the Huawei arrest, Brexit, demonstrations in France and volatile oil prices are among the factors investors are weighing. In Europe, London added 1.3 percent and Frankfurt closed 1.5 percent higher. Paris rose by nearly as much after President Emmanuel Macron made spending promises worth up to 11 billion euros ($12.5 billion) aimed at quelling the "yellow vest" unrest. - Paris up after Macron splurge - Adding lost income after he scrapped a fuel tax, analysts said France is looking at a hole in its 2019 budget of around 15 billion euros -- which could take its deficit to 3.4 percent of GDP from a planned 2.8 percent. While the news pushed French government bond yields higher and helped depress the euro, the Paris bourse was more focused on the potential impact of the measures on growth, analysts said. "As long as he (Macron) continues with pro-growth supply-side reforms, the French economy can strengthen over time despite a cyclical slowdown now," said Kallum Pickering, senior economist at Berenberg. Meanwhile expectations are low that Beijing and Washington can reach a full-blown agreement that will end their trade war, with the waters muddied by the arrest in Canada of a top executive at Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer and daughter of the firm's founder, faces US fraud charges related to allegedly breaking Iran sanctions. She has asked for bail. The arrest has angered China and led to concerns that it could derail the trade talks. Elsewhere Tuesday, both main oil contracts climbed but the gains were short of making up for the three percent losses suffered Monday on concerns an output cut agreed by OPEC at the weekend might not be enough to offset a supply glut. - Key figures around 1650 GMT - London - FTSE 100: UP 1.3 percent at 6,806.94 points (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.5 percent at 10,780.51 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.4 percent at 4,806.20 (close) EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.3 percent at 3,055.32 New York - Dow Jones: UP 0.2 percent at 24,471.64 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 21,148.02 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.1 percent at 25,771.67 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 2,594.09 (close) Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2537 from $1.2562 at 2200 GMT Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1338 from $1.1354 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 113.26 yen from 113.35 yen Oil - Brent Crude: UP 85 cents at $60.82 per barrel Oil - West Texas Intermediate UP $1.18 at $52.18 burs-jh/bmm