(MENAFN- AFP) European stock markets rose Wednesday as investors toasted news that Belgian-Brazilian drinks giant AB InBev is brewing a blockbuster takeover bid for Britain's SABMiller.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 1.49 percent to close at 6,229.21 points, while in the eurozone Frankfurt's DAX 30 added 0.38 percent to finish at 10,227.21 and Paris's CAC 40 jumped 1.67 percent to 4,645.84 points.
Madrid shot up 1.99 percent and Milan gained 0.71 percent.
SABMiller's share price rocketed by a fifth in London, topping the FTSE risers' board, after it revealed that Anheuser-Busch InBev intended to make a bid.
The brewer's shares ended the day with a gain of 19.89 percent to 3,614 pence as investors reacted to the surprise news.
Across in Brussels, AB InBev's share price leapt 6.41 percent to 100.50 euros.
The blockbuster takeover would combine the world's biggest brewer, AB InBev, with the second biggest, SABMiller.
The pair's combined stock market value is about $245 billion (218 billion euros) based on Tuesday's closing share prices.
A potential deal would bring together AB InBev's Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois beers with SABMiller's Foster's, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell.
"The SABMiller/AB InBev reports appear to have helped remind investors that Chinese woes and interest rates aren't the only things in the financial world at the moment," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.
- Deal 'a boost to sentiment' -
Analyst Craig Erlam at traders Oanda said: "These deals always provide a boost to sentiment, especially during such a pessimistic period for the markets.
"SABMiller is also one of the larger constituents of the FTSE 100 and the world's second largest brewer so this is a very big deal," Erlam told AFP.
"It will be interesting to see whether the sell-off in the markets over the last month will prompt any more takeover talk which could further boost sentiment in the coming weeks."
European equities were also buoyed on Wednesday by bumper Chinese gains on the eve of a key US interest rate call.
Shanghai stocks soared 4.89 percent, halting a two-day slump as investors returned to the market amid speculation of state-led buying, dealers said.
Wall Street stocks also rose Wednesday as the markets digested a weak reading on consumer prices ahead of a key Federal Reserve interest rate decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.50 percent to stand at 16,682.36 points in midday trading.
The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.56 percent to 1,989.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.22 percent to 4,871.31.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index fell 0.1 percent in August, dragged lower by tumbling gasoline prices.
The fresh data signalled a continued lack of inflationary pressure that would support the Fed undertaking its first rate hike in more than nine years.
The Fed's monetary policy committee is due to wrap up its two-day meeting on Thursday.
Traders see a 30-percent chance the Fed will raise interest rates Thursday, up from 25 percent Tuesday morning, said a note from Wells Fargo Advisors.
- Glencore climbs -
In other European trading, shares in Glencore climbed after the Swiss mining and commodities giant announced it had raised $2.5 billion via a shares sale as part of its vast debt-slashing plan.
London-listed Glencore said in a statement that it had sold new shares worth about £1.6 billion or 2.2 billion euros in order to pay down debt.
The company, which has lost 57 percent of its market value this year, is grappling with tumbling commodity prices as China's economic slowdown weighs on demand and sparks havoc across markets.
Glencore shares gained 5.19 percent to 134.7 pence.
In foreign exchange trading, the euro climbed to $1.1304 from $1.1272 late on Tuesday in New York.
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