LONDON (AP) -- European stock markets rose Wednesday as solid manufacturing news helped fuel investor optimism. Wall Street was set to open higher too ahead of data on the manufacturing and housing industries.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 53.75 points, or 1.3 percent, at 4,302.96 while Germany's DAX rose 68.90 points, or 1.4 percent, to 4,877.54. The CAC-40 in France was 56.85 points, or 1.8 percent, higher at 3,197.29.

The gains in Europe came after closely watched manufacturing surveys for both the 16 countries that use the euro and for Britain raised hopes that growth may emerge later this year.

The purchasing managers index -- a gauge of business activity -- for the euro zone's manufacturing sector rose for the fourth month running to 42.6 in June from May's 40.7. Though a reading below 50 still indicates a contraction in activity, the higher reading indicated a less marked fall in output. Meanwhile, the equivalent index for Britain spiked to a 13-month high of 47 in June from 45.4 in May.

The improved manufacturing backdrop in Europe stoked investors hopes that the tentative "green shoots" of recovery spotted during the second quarter may be firmed up over the coming three months. However, the encouraging news came just a day after weak U.S. consumer confidence data had weighed on markets.

"It is becoming clear that risk appetite is starting to lack consistency and any catalyst could trigger a broad correction amid weak summer liquidity conditions," said Gareth Berry, an analyst at UBS.

Wall Street was also poised to open higher later following Tuesday's losses. Dow futures were up 49 points, or 0.6 percent, at 8,443, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures rose 6.4 points, or 0.7 percent, to 921.90.

Investors will be keeping a close eye on the Institute for Supply Management's U.S. manufacturing survey later. Economists expect activity to have declined in June for the 17th straight month, but at the slowest pace since last August. The market is also anticipating reports on construction spending and pending home sales in May.

Thursday brings the European Central Bank's latest interest late decision and the closely watched U.S. non-farm payrolls. Analysts expect June's U.S. unemployment rate to rise around 0.3 of a percentage point to 9.7 percent.

Stocks around the world managed to turn in one of the best quarters in years during the second quarter -- the S&P 500 index in the U.S., for example, rose around 16 percent during the quarter, its best performance since 1998 -- despite ongoing worries about the global banking system, the public finances and the length and depth of the recession.

Neil Mackinnon, chief economist at ECU Group, said it's a "tough call" whether a similar performance can be turned in for the quarter as investors will now need "hard evidence" that the world's major economies are improving enough to justify current stock valuations.

"There is still the possibility of shocks to the banking sector should the property market fail to recover, thus creating negative feedback loops between the banks and property," said Mackinnon.

"In addition, and bearing in mind that 25 percent of the S&P index is accounted for by energy and materials stocks, a lot depends on whether China can act as a locomotive for the global economy," he added.

Two surveys earlier suggested that Chinese manufacturing expanded slightly in June. Brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said its purchasing managers index rose to 51.8 from May's 51.2, while the state-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its own PMI edged up slightly to 53.2 from May's 53.1.

Despite the improving signals out of China, which helped the Shanghai Composite index to rise 1.7 percent to 3,008.15 -- its first close above the symbolic 3,000 level since June 12, 2008 -- Asian stock markets ended were mixed after a weaker than expected "tankan" business survey from the Bank of Japan.

Though the survey indicated that corporate sentiment had improved modestly, it showed that companies plan to cut capital investment -- highlighting the challenges the world's second-biggest economy faces as it climbs out of its steepest recession ever.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 18.51 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 9,939.93. Australia's S&P/ASX200 index sagged 2.1 percent to 3,874. Hong Kong's market was closed for a public holiday.

Among gainers, South Korea's Kospi rose 1.6 percent to 1,411.66 while Taiwan's benchmark jumped 2.3 percent.

By early afternoon London time, benchmark crude for August delivery was up $1.10 to $70.99 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar rose 0.4 percent to 96.81 yen while the euro was up 0.4 percent at $1.4078.

AP Business Writer Malcolm Foster in Bangkok contributed to this report.