Shanghai Composite Leads Global Stock Rally While Oil Regains Some Ground

Asian markets finished broadly up even as European markets climbed despite disappointing economic data from China, which showed the country grew at its slowest pace in 25 years. In the U.S. too, stock futures suggested a positive start to the markets after the long weekend.

The ebullience in global stocks was reportedly triggered by expectations of more stimulus from China's ruling Communist Party and relief that China's growth was not worse than reported. State media said growth was within "reasonable range," and mostly met the growth target of “about 7 percent” for the year. However, it represented a sharp fall from 2014's growth rate of 7.3 percent.

"As figures weaken in absolute terms, we can potentially see additional stimulus measures. That is helping investors' appetite for risk," Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets, told Reuters.

The Shanghai Composite Index led Asian markets, closing 3.22 percent higher while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 2.07 percent. The S&P BSE Sensex in India was up 1.24 percent after hitting a 20-month low Monday while South Korea’s Kospi Index added 0.6 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.55 percent up.

Chinese stocks had started the year on an unsteady footing with a slump in the stock markets and a 3 percent devaluation of the yuan, leading to concerns about Beijing’s ability to reign in market volatility.

Crude oil recovered somewhat from Monday, gaining 2.73 percent to trade at $29.3 per barrel Tuesday over increased demand from China while metal prices also rose, Reuters reported.

European shares opened higher Tuesday, with miners making the biggest gains as metal prices rose. France’s CAC 40 rose 2.14 percent and Germany's DAX added 1.83 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.82 percent while the pan-European STOXX 600 rose 1.9 percent.

Stock futures in the U.S. also suggested a positive start to local indexes, with futures on the S&P 500 futures and the Dow Jones Index trading about 1.4 percent up while the Nasdaq was up 1.6 percent.

“China still has a dashboard of policy buttons it can press,” Neil Williams, group chief economist at Hermes Investment Management, told the Wall Street Journal, adding that China could continue devaluing the yuan, take on more quantitative easing, or “go on a fiscal splurge.”