LONDON: European equity markets rose yesterday as dealers brushed aside lower-than-expected growth in the United States to focus on upbeat jobs data in the world’s biggest economy, dealers said.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index ended the day up 0.55 percent to 6,360.81 points, while Frankfurt’s DAX 30 grew 0.86 percent to 7,741.7 points — aided also by official data which showed that Germany’s jobless total fell to its lowest level in five months in February.
The Paris CAC 40 won 0.85 percent to 3,723.00 points and Milan’s FTSE Mib index climbed 0.60 percent to 15,921 points amid ongoing political deadlock in Italy after inconclusive elections that had sparked a fierce sell-off earlier in the week.
In foreign exchange deals, the euro fell to $1.3083 from $1.3136 late in New York on Wednesday. Gold prices declined to $1,588.50 an ounce on the London Bullion Market from $1,604.25 Wednesday.
European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi on Wednesday sought to soothe concerns over the eurozone outlook. “We are committed to preserving the integrity of our currency, in the interests of all people of the euro area,” Draghi said, reasserting its commitment to buy up bonds of debt-ridden countries.
The comments, which came after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke declared that Fed easing measures would stay in place, came as relief to markets after Italy’s poll deadlock raised fears of a return to Europe’s debt crisis.
US stocks edged higher, after the Dow soared on Wednesday to a five-year high, as the Commerce Department revised the final-quarter growth rate to a positive 0.1 percent from a contraction of 0.1 percent. Economists had forecast a revision to 0.5 percent, however.
Separate government data showed new claims for US unemployment benefits fell last week to 344,000, in line with the recent trend after the previous week’s spike higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.08 percent to 14,086.47 points in midday trade. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.16 percent to 1,518.48, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.24 percent to 3,169.76.
But concerns were mounting that the “sequester” federal spending cuts expected to come into effect would cause a spike in layoffs by government contractors and temporary government employees. The IMF meanwhile said that the broad cuts would slow growth in the world’s biggest economy and hit the global economy.
Back in Europe, investors pored over a raft of company results. Royal Bank of Scotland shares sank 6.6 percent to 323.9 pence after the group logged its fifth successive annual loss. Losses after tax widened to £5.97bn.
Asian markets rose, with Tokyo climbing 2.71 percent as the yen sank on confirmation that Japan’s government had put forward Haruhiko Kuroda, an advocate of a looser monetary policy to overcome slow growth, to take over at the Bank of Japan. Sydney added 1.34 percent, Seoul rose 1.12 percent, Hong Kong shares advanced 1.96 percent, and Shanghai jumped 2.26 percent. AFP
