LONDON (AP) - World stock markets mostly rose Thursday after another batch of solid corporate earnings, but the pound slid after the Bank of England said it plans to pump more money into the British economy. British shares were unmoved, though. In Europe, stocks bounced back after two days of losses following indifferent economic news in the U.S., with the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares up 45.55 points, or 1 percent, at 4,692.68 and Germany's DAX 32.83 points, or 0.6 percent, higher at 5,385.84. The CAC-40 in France rose 25.26 points, or 0.7 percent, to 3,483.79. Financial stocks were particularly in demand in London. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, which is majority-owned by the British government, was up over 6 percent ahead of Friday's half-year results, while Lloyds Banking Group PLC rose 7 percent on further buying following on from Wednesday's 11 percent increase. Insurer Aviva PLC was also heavily bought up, rising 7 percent, after it posted better than expected first half results and announced plans to float off part of its Dutch subsidiary to shore up its capital base. Despite some encouraging economic data in recent days, the Bank of England decided to expand its asset purchase program. In a statement accompanying its decision to keep the benchmark rate unchanged at 0.5 percent, the Bank said it was increasing the amount of financial assets it can buy from financial institutions by 50 billion pounds to 175 billion pounds. The purpose of the so-called quantitative easing program is to stimulate growth by boosting the money supply. The decision was a surprise - many economists thought the bank would suspend the program following signs that the British economy was on the mend. Richard Snook, senior economist at the Centre for Economic and Business Research, said the decision was the right one. "The impact of rising unemployment and the inevitable fiscal contraction in 2010 means that strong monetary stimulus is needed to prevent a fragile recovery turning into a double dip recession," he said. Though the Bank's announcement had little impact in stock markets, the pound took a tumble as currency traders trimmed back expectations about when the central bank would start to raise rates and withdraw monetary stimulus. The pound fell around a cent against the dollar to $1.6843. Investors were awaiting apress conference from European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet. Unlike the Bank of England, the ECB is not expected to unveil any new unorthodox measures. Elsewhere in Europe, Anglo-Dutch consumer products firm Unilever PLC/NV rose over 6 percent in London after reporting a second-quarter sales increase despite the global recession. Meanwhile, Germany reinsurer Hannover Re AG saw its share price rise around 5 percent after it revealed that second-quarter net profit doubled as demand increased for its products, particularly life and health reinsurance. And in France, financial company Dexia SA topped the CAC's risers with a 10 percent advance as investors warmed to the general positive vibe surrounding bank and insurance companies across the continent. Most interest in the markets this week will be on Friday's U.S. jobs report for July, which often sets the tone in the markets for a few weeks. As a result, the weekly jobless claims figures in the U.S. later have the potential to soothe nerves over the payrolls figures after some weaker than anticipated data on Wednesday. "A better number here could cheer the market, raising investor optimism ahead of the jobs report," said Ian Griffiths, a dealer at CMC Markets. Futures markets were predicting a fairly subdued start later, with Dow futures up only 10 points, or 0.1 percent, at 9,255 and the broader Standard&Poor's 500 futures 0.2 point firmer at 1,001. Earlier in Asia, a bounceback in auto stocks, such as Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. helped Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average close 135.56 points, or 1.3 percent, higher at 10,388.09. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index recovered from early declines to gain 404.47, or 2 percent, to 20,899.24. Bucking the trend were shares in China. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 72.17 points, or 2.1 percent, to 3,356.33. Worrieshave grown over whether a surge in Chinese bank lending to support the government's massive stimulus Elsewhere, Australia's benchmark gained 1.5 percent after the unemployment rate held steady in July while South Korea's Kospi erased earlier losses and closed up 0.4 percent. Singapore's market fell 0.2 percent. Oil prices continued to trade in a narrow range around $72 a barrel. Benchmark crude for September delivery was down 28 cents to $71.69 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar rose 0.6 percent to 95.45 yen while the euro dipped 0.2 percent to $1.4375.

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