US economy rebounds, Fed monetary policy unchanged

US economic data on Wednesday were positive.

The economy rebounded in the second quarter, growing at a 4 percent annualised rate after having shrunk at a 2.1 percent rate in the first quarter.

And the third quarter appears to have started well, with an ADP report showing that companies added 218,000 workers in July, exceeding the average for the year.

The Federal Reserve left monetary policy unchanged at its policy meeting on Wednesday though.

"Labor market conditions improved, with the unemployment rate declining further," the Fed said in a statement. "However, a range of labor market indicators suggests that there remains significant underutilization of labor resources."

Also on Wednesday, the European Commission reported that its economic sentiment index for the euro area rose to 102.2 in July from 102.1 in June.

However, data from Japan on Wednesday showed that factory production there fell 3.3 percent in June, the worst monthly decline since March 2011 following the earthquake and tsunami disaster.