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London - European stock markets rebounded on Tuesday, with some support coming from slightly improving eurozone data.
The single currency's economic activity edged higher in August with few signs that Brexit-linked dangers were yet hurting the European economy, a closely watched survey showed Tuesday.
Investors were meanwhile looking ahead to a key speech from Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen, hoping for some insight into the state of the US economy and the bank's plans for its next interest rate rise.
Around 14:00, Frankfurt's DAX 30 stocks index was 0.9% higher and the Paris CAC 40 grew 0.7% in value.
The euro meanwhile rose against the dollar.
"The eurozone recovery continues to weather the Brexit shock rather unscathed," said Edoardo Campanella of UniCredit Research.
"All in all, today's survey is reassuring, although uncertainty about future growth developments remain high."
Data monitoring company Markit said the eurozone economy maintained its resilience this month despite Britain's shock vote to leave the EU at the end of June - with a strong showing from France as well as powerhouse Germany.
Markit said the preliminary August reading for its Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the eurozone rose to a seven-month-high of 53.3 points, up from 53.2 in July.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, shares in Germany's embattled car giant Volkswagen jumped 2.2% to €122.7 after the group reached a deal with suppliers to restart deliveries - after a row over contracts forced VW to halt production at several plants.
Outside the eurozone, London's FTSE 100 index was up 0.6% in late morning deals compared with the close on Monday.
The benchmark index was supported by solid share price gains for housebuilders, in particular Persimmon which rose 4.5% thanks to a good first-half performance.
"Housebuilders are useful barometers of forward-looking consumer sentiment," noted Neil Wilson, markets analyst at ETX Capital.
Widespread worries that the vote to exit the EU will hamper growth in Britain and beyond have eased in recent weeks thanks to better-than-expected economic data.
"Of course this might just be the calm before the storm," said Wilson.
"If unemployment rises as expected (because of Brexit) the impact on housing and retail sales will be a little less upbeat than these snapshots suggest."
In Asia on Tuesday, share prices of energy firms sank as oil prices extended the previous day's sharp losses.
Observers meanwhile expect markets to remain cautious leading up to Yellen's speech at the annual global central bankers' symposium at Jackson Hole in Wyoming on Friday.
