Europe to storm ahead after solid US data, Asia lead

European stocks are expected to extend gains Wednesday, underpinned by strong U.S. housing data and a boost from Asia.

The London FTSE index is called to open 51 points at 6,270, the German DAX up 108 points at 10,165 and the French CAC up 31 points at 4,462,

New home sales for April jumped 16.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000 units in the U.S., the highest level since January 2008 and well above expectations, reported Reuters.

U.S. stocks posted their best day since March with gains of more than 1 percent on Tuesday following the data and were boosted by sharp gains in European stocks – particularly from banks, retailers and insurers - yesterday.

After late-night talks into Wednesday, the Eurogroup ministers agreed to release 10.3 billion euros ($11.42 billion) for Greece after lawmakers approved more painful austerity measures over the weekend.

Meanwhile in the U.S., St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told CNBC that a U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike in June or July wasn't set in stone, but labor data suggested it was time to pull the trigger. "There's no reason to prejudge June," Bullard said, adding that the Federal Open Markets Committee would look at the data and decide then.

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