An electronic screen shows the risk premium of different European countries at the Madrid Stock Exchange in central Spain yesterday. Spanish risk premium fell 2 basis points to 332 points, as Madrid’s Ibex 35 gained 0.25% to 8,159.5 points.
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Europe’s main stock markets rose yesterday and the euro rallied above $1.31, as traders seized on news of a successful Italy bond auction and a strong drop in new US unemployment claims. |
London’s FTSE 100 index of leading companies rose 0.45% to close at 6,416.14 points, while in Frankfurt the Dax 30 climbed 0.78% to 7,871.63 points and in Paris the Cac 40 added 0.85% to 3,775.66 points.
Milan’s FTSE Mib index, meanwhile, advanced 0.58% to 16,021 points, and Madrid’s Ibex 35 gained 0.25% to 8,159.5 points.
In foreign exchange deals, the European single currency spiked as high as $1.3134 — which was the highest point since March 8. It later stood at $1.3121, up from $1.3080 in New York late on Wednesday.
Italy’s borrowing costs dipped in a bond auction that raised €7.17bn ($9.38bn) but fell just short of the maximum target amount, amid ongoing deadlock over a new government.
The Treasury sold €4.0bn in three-year bonds, with the rate falling to 2.29% from 2.48% in a similar sale on March 13.
It also raised €1.67bn in 15-year bonds — below its maximum target amount of €2.0bn — with the borrowing rate at 4.68% against 4.9% in the auction last month.
Gold prices eased to $1,565 per ounce on the London Bullion Market, from $1,577.25 late on Wednesday.
Early on European markets were boosted by another record performance on Wall Street on Wednesday, then news before markets opened yesterday that new US unemployment claims came in at the lowest in four months helped sustain the forward momentum.
Initial jobless claims, an indicator of the pace of layoffs and a keenly watched barometer of the health of the world’s biggest economy, dropped 11% to a seasonally adjusted 346,000 in the week ending April 6, according to US Labor Department data.
In midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.43% to 14,865.61 points, while the broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.36% to 1,593.44 points, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.09% to 3,300.08 points.
Back in London, British high street retailer Marks & Spencer saw its share price rally to the top of the FTSE 100 following upbeat earnings news.
Shares jumped 4.3% to close at 400.4 pence.
M&S announced that sales rose in the fourth quarter of its financial year, despite challenging conditions on the high street.
Group sales increased 3.1% in the 13 weeks to March 30, compared with the equivalent period of the company’s previous fiscal year.
M&S added that British like-for-like sales, stripping out the impact of new floor space, climbed 0.6% in the same period. General merchandise sales sank 3.8% but food sales grew by 4%.