Stocks returned to winning ways on Wednesday, helped by positive economic data around the world. The S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent and the STOXX Europe 600 jumped 1.3 percent.
A report on Wednesday showed that China's economy accelerated in the second quarter. It grew 7.5 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, faster than the 7.4 percent growth in the first quarter.
In June, industrial production rose 9.2 percent from the previous year, retail sales increased 12.4 percent and fixed asset investment rose 17.3 per cent in the first six months compared to the same period the previous year.
US economic data on Wednesday were also mostly positive.
Despite manufacturing production increasing by just 0.1 percent in June, industrial production rose at a 5.5 percent annual rate in the second quarter, the fastest since the third quarter of 2010.
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book found economic activity continued to expand in recent weeks, with manufacturing and consumer spending gaining traction.
The NAHB/Wells Fargo housing market index rose to 53 this month, the highest level in six months, from 49 in June.
The producer price index for final demand increased 0.4 percent in June after falling 0.2 percent in May.
In the UK, the unemployment rate fell to 6.5 percent in the three months to May from 6.6 percent a month earlier.
However, workers' earnings excluding bonuses rose by an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the three months through May, the slowest growth in regular pay since records began in 2001.
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