AFP
London
European stock markets rose yesterday as traders reacted to company earnings updates and positioned themselves ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.
Frankfurt’s Dax 30 climbed 0.48% to 9,022.04 points, closing above the 9,000 level for the first time.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 0.73% to 6,774.73 points, pulled higher by BP, while the Cac 40 in Paris added 0.62% to 4,278.09 points.
Madrid jumped 1.3% and Milan rallied 2.3%.
“Markets have once again reacted well to some fairly indifferent earnings reports simply because they have been slightly better than expected,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
“The rally has also been helped by some fairly indifferent US economic data which has increased the probability that tomorrow’s Fed meeting could well see growth forecasts for the US economy nudged downwards with the likely outcome that any tapering prospects get pushed out further into the middle part of 2014,” he added.
In London, shares in BP surged 5.6% to 477.5 pence.
“Profit has exceeded forecasts, whilst news of an increase in the (BP) dividend payment is greatly welcomed” by investors, said Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.
Net profit slid by a third to $3.5bn, mainly as a result of lower refining margins.
In London, the share price of Lloyds Banking Group fell 2.0% to 78.01 pence after the British state-rescued bank said it was putting aside a further £750mn ($1.2bn, €876mn) to compensate customers who were wrongly sold a controversial insurance policy — bringing the total amount to £8.02bn.
In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank said that its net profit in the third quarter was hit by “substantial litigation charges” and weaker investment banking. After spending most of the day down, its shares closed the day up 0.9% at €36.21.
It is being investigated over allegations that some of its employees may have been involved in rigging the Libor and Euribor interest rates.
And a number of top managers are also suspected of involvement in a tax evasion scheme in the trading of carbon emissions certificates.
The group said it had set aside €1.2bn ($1.65bn) in provisions for litigation charges in the third quarter, bringing the overall total in provisions so far to 4.1bn euros.
In foreign exchange, the euro fell to $1.3744 from $1.3785 late in New York on Monday.
The dollar rose to ¥98.18 from 97.65 on Monday.
The British pound slid to €1.1674 and to $1.6048.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold dropped to $1,349.25 an ounce from $1,361 on Monday.
