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| Workers in the non-profit sector, which includes nurses and social workers, throw their shoes on to the steps of the stock exchange building, during a protest in Brussels, yesterday. The non-profit sector, numbering some 450,000 people, is complaining about the absence of a new working agreement, partly the result of Belgium lacking a full-fledged government |
Dealers said the continuing crisis at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant, damaged by the massive March 11 earthquake is depressing sentiment in Asia and having a knock-on effect in Europe.
The violence in Libya and widespread popular protests for change in the Middle East add to the uncertainty while another ratings downgrade for Greece and Portugal stoked fresh fears over the prospects for the eurozone.
In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed up 0.47% to 5,932.17 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.27% to 3,987.80 points but in Frankfurt the Dax slipped 0.06% to 6,934.44 points.
Dealers said investors appeared to adjusting positions ahead of key US jobs data due Friday which will set the tone and put recent weaker figures in perspective. IG Index trader Yusuf Heusen in London said trade was subdued ahead of the end of the month and also the first quarter when books will be closed.
“The situation in Japan clearly remains critical, so traders will be keeping a watchful eye on further developments ... (while) oil prices are easing on news that the rebels in Libya are making further progress.” In Paris, Renaud Murail at Barclays Bourse said prices were holding up well.
“It is difficult to find rational reasons for this latest rise ... dealers are being prudent,” he said, noting that volumes were thin which usually makes for wider price swings.
Elsewhere in Europe, Amsterdam added 0.37%, Brussels rose 0.40%, Madrid slipped 0.15%, Milan dropped 1.04% and Swiss stocks were flat.
In New York, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.49% at around 1600 GMT and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.72%.
Dealers there said the gains were surprising given the bad news backdrop and a disappointing reading on consumer confidence - which fell to 63.4% for March from 70.4% in February, hitting hopes for a strong recovery.
The euro drifted lower against the dollar yestersday after fresh comments by a Federal Reserve official suggesting the US loose monetary policy may be coming to an end.
The dollar got a boost from St Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, who speaking in Prague, echoed comments last week by Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser that the US could not keep its very loose monetary policy forever.
Bullard also suggested that the Fed could cut short its exceptional measures to help the world’s largest economy, stopping at $100bn below the $600bn target of its bond-buying programme known as quantitative easing.
Sterling meanwhile drifted lower despite a modest upward revision to British gross domestic product data for the fourth quarter of last year.
The economy shrank by 0.5% between October and December compared with the third quarter, official data showed. That compared with the prior estimate of a deeper 0.6-percent contraction.
In London trading yesterday, the euro changed hands at $1.4082 against $1.4092 in New York late Monday, at 116.02 yen (115.16), £0.8815 (0.8809) and 1.2974 Swiss francs (1.2911).
The dollar stood at €82.41 (81.71) and 0.9213 Swiss francs (0.9161). The pound was at $1.5974 (1.5996).
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold edged up to $1,417.50 an ounce from $1,417 late Monday.