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London - A rise in the Paris market, after strong French economic data, pushed European shares higher on Wednesday and enabled the region's equity indexes to stabilise from the effects of a bond market sell-off this week.
France posted its fastest economic growth rate in two years in the first three months of 2015, although Germany slowed from its robust pace late last year, official data showed on Wednesday.
The benchmark Paris CAC-40 index rose 1.1%, outperforming Germany's DAX and the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which both advanced by 0.3%.
The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index rose 0.7%.
European stock markets slumped on Tuesday as a global bond market sell-off unnerved investors.
However, the situation in the bond markets was more steady on Wednesday and the solid economic data from France also reassured equity investors.
"It did not feel like a full-scale panic earlier this week, more like a short-term correction. I've been buying into the dip on the Euro STOXX," said Andreas Clenow, hedge fund trader and principal at ACIES Asset Management.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index remains up around 16% since the start of 2015, the Euro STOXX 50 is up 14% and Germany's DAX -- which hit record highs in April - is up 17%.
Greece's main ATG equity index rose 0.9% but the market is up only 1% this year as Athens has been locked in talks with lenders on a cash-for-reforms agreement.
No agreement has yet been reached and Greece needs a deal to unlock aid within weeks to avoid running out of cash.
French telecoms services company Numericable surged by more than 10%, the best performer on the FTSEurofirst, as both Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale raised their price target on Numericable's shares and kept "buy" ratings on the stock.
Mike Reuter, a broker at Tradition, said investors had used the dip in the European stock markets earlier this week to hunt out stocks for relatively cheap prices.
"I think people have started to do some bottom fishing already," he said.
