Barclays logo is seen outside its branch in Barking. The bank’s shares ended up 4% at 247.05 pence yesterday after it announced an update on its plans to strengthen its business.
Europe’s main stock markets closed higher yesterday ahead of the Easter weekend, shaking off early losses as investors kept a wary eye on diplomatic talks over the Ukraine crisis.
London’s FTSE 100 ended up 0.62% compared to Wednesday’s closing level, at 6,625.25 points.
Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.99% to finish the day at 9,409.71 points and the CAC-40 in Paris gained 0.59% to close on 4,431.81 points.
European bank stocks gained, with Barclays leading the pack to end up 4% at 247.05 pence after it announced an update on its plans to strengthen its business, including a continuing cost-cutting programme.
In Paris, shares in advertising giant Publicis ended up 1.33% to €63.89 after the firm reported a 2.2% rise in first-quarter sales figures, pointing to a return to growth after a difficult period in 2013.
In foreign exchange deals, the euro rose to $1.3837 from $1.3815 late in New York on Wednesday.
The European single currency rose to 82.30 British pence from 82.25 pence, while the pound advanced to $1.6811 from $1.6795 on Wednesday.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold decreased to $1,299 an ounce from $1,301.50 on Wednesday.
In the US, markets inched down as poor earnings from Google and IBM set the tone despite solid quarterly reports from Goldman Sachs and General Electric.
The weak sentiment was also evident in the overnight IPO of Sina Weibo, the Chinese microblogging service, which was undersubscribed at the low end of its pricing range, raising $286mn.
In mid-afternoon trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.15% at 16,400.77.
The broad-based S&P 500 inched up 0.01% to 1,862.48, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.02% at 4,085.53.
Google fell 4.0% after reporting late Wednesday a 32% rise in profits in the first quarter, missing analyst estimates, while IBM lost 3.36% after reporting earnings slumped more than a fifth.
“One reason for the sell-off in the US stock market in the first half of this month appears to have been concern that valuations in the technology sector are stretched,” said Capital Economics.
Shares in Goldman Sachs gained 0.77% to $158.43 after the investment bank reported lower quarterly profits due to declines in key trading divisions, but notched a big gain in financial advisory services.
General Electric shares rose 2.14% to $26.68 after it reported a 15% fall in net income to $3.0bn, though its industrial sales rose from last year thanks to gains in its two largest industrial segments.
