A bull statue stands outside the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Europe’s stock markets advanced yesterday as dealers digested positive economic data from the US and China. Frankfurt’s Dax 30 added 0.33% to 9,107.86 points.
AFP
Europe’s stock markets advanced yesterday as dealers digested positive economic data from the US and China, and took their cue from more record gains on Wall Street.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0.3% to close at 6,728.38 points, Frankfurt’s Dax 30 added 0.33% to 9,107.86 points, and the Cac 40 in Paris rose 0.70% to 4,290.14 points.
Trading was subdued in Europe because of Armistice Day, a holiday of remembrance for war dead.
“The day is very calm, with little activity and few investors, weak volumes and not very strong news on the agenda this week,” said Andrea Tueni, an analyst at Saxo Banque in Paris.
The European single currency climbed to $1.3407, up from $1.3368 late in New York on Friday. The dollar firmed to ¥99.23 from ¥99.04.
The euro, meanwhile, rose to 83.90 pence against the British pound, which was lower at $1.5979.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold eased to $1,282.50 an ounce from $1,285.50 on Friday.
European equities had faced a rollercoaster week last week, amid a surprise European Central Bank rate cut, France’s credit downgrade and upbeat US jobs data.
However, Wall Street roared higher on Friday after jobs growth in October widely topped forecasts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 167.80 points to a record 15,761.78 points, topping the blue-chip index’s record close two days ago.
It was lifted by figures which showed the world’s biggest economy added 204,000 jobs in October, double what analysts forecast.
The positive figures, despite a 16-day partial federal government shutdown last month, are another sign of economic improvement.
Analysts have also been pointing to the reaction of investors, however.
“I don’t want to tempt fate but it seems that we are slowly returning to a market where the macro environment holds court and the political posturing we have seen in the past few months is relegated to the side show it is,” said Nick Dale-Lace, a trader at CMC Market UK.
“Surely the idea of the Fed introducing a cut to its stimulus programme is a positive sign for the overall welfare of US and world market...” he added.
US stocks continued to push mostly higher in thinner than usual because of the Veterans Day holiday, with the bond markets there closed for trading.
In midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.14% to 15,783 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 Index edged up 0.09% to 1,772.19, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.03% to 3,918.04.
