European stocks advanced Wednesday after China's economic growth picked up slightly in the second quarter but Asian markets were lukewarm about the data that largely fitted expectations, AP reported. The world's second-largest economy expanded 7.5 percent over a year earlier in the April-June quarter, picking up slightly from 7.4 percent growth in the first quarter, and suggesting the government's mini-stimulus measures had helped to offset a housing slowdown. In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.9 percent to 6,770.58 and the CAC-40 in France surged 1.4 percent to 4,363.72. Germany's DAX rose 1.2 percent to 9,835.02. Wall Street was poised for gains. Dow futures added 0.3 percent to 17,040 and S&P 500 futures gained 0.3 percent to 1,973.30. The Nikkei 225, the benchmark for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, was little changed at 15,379.30, closing down 0.1 percent after zigzagging in a short range throughout the day. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.3 percent to 23,523.28 while Seoul's Kospi inched up 0.04 percent to 2,013.48. China's Shanghai Composite reversed earlier gains to fall 0.2 percent to 2,067.28 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.1 percent to 5,518.90. Other Asian stock markets were mostly higher, including shares in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. In currencies, the euro slipped to $1.3538 from $1.3571 late Tuesday. The dollar was little changed at 101.69 yen. Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery was up 80 cents at $100.77 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
