(By Kevin Donovan) Minutes from a meeting of the Bank of England and lower Spanish bond yields helped European bourses post gains in trading Wednesday.
The BOE minutes reveal a greater inclination to consider another round of quantitative easing and Spanish bonds rallied on a report from the G20 meeting in Mexico that European leaders would back a plan to help Spain and Italy weather the crisis. Under the proposed deal, two European rescue funds – the €500 billion European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the €250 billion European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) – will buy bonds issued by European countries.
Also helping sentiment was news that after almost three days of negotiations, Greece had formed a government that would "form a bailout renegotiaton team," according to Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos.
Expectation of continued monetary ease in the U.S. didn't hurt either. The Federal Reserve's decision and commentary is expected within the hour today.
The FTSE 100 finished 0.64% higher, with the DAX and the CAC 40 up 0.45% and 0.28%, respectively.