Business
European stocks mostly gain amid mixed economic data
European stocks mostly gain amid mixed economic data
A trader observes the screen which shows the Spanish index, Ibex 35, at the stock exchange in Madrid yesterday. Ibex 35 lost 0.29% to 8,365.1 points after official data showed Spain’s unemployment rate soared to a new record.
AFP/London
European stock markets mostly rose yesterday in the wake of recent strong gains as traders reacted to news of soaring Spanish unemployment and surprising British growth figures, while earnings updates from major pharmaceuticals were also in focus. |
Indices had enjoyed large gains during the previous two days on growing expectations of an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank.
At closing, London’s FTSE 100 index of leading companies rose 0.17% to 6,442.59 points.
In Frankfurt, the Dax 30 climbed 0.95% to 7,832.86 points, while in Paris the Cac 40 slipped 0.06% to 3,840.47 points.
Madrid’s Ibex 35 lost 0.29% to 8,365.1 points after official data showed Spain’s unemployment rate soared to a new record of 27.16% of the workforce in the first quarter of 2013 and the number of those without jobs surpassed six million.
In foreign exchange trade, the euro fell to $1.3004 from $1.3014 late on Wednesday in New York. The dollar slipped to ¥99.42 compared to 99.53.
Sterling shot up to $1.5439 from $1.5264 and was higher also versus the euro.
Official data yesterday showed that Britain avoided falling into a third recession since the 2008 global financial crisis after its economy grew by a better-than-expected 0.3% in the first quarter compared with the final three months of last year.
The GDP data “is certainly reason for celebration for the broader economy. But market participants are reminding investors of how what really matters for equities is not necessarily an increase in output but the availability of liquidity,” said Spreadex trader David White.
On the London Bullion Market, gold climbed to $1,451 an ounce from $1,428.50 Wednesday.
In company news, shares in AstraZeneca retreated 1.9% to 3,325.5 pence in London after the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company said its net profit tumbled 38% in the first quarter of the year to $1.0bn (€767mn) after losing market exclusivity for some of its key drugs.
In Frankfurt, Bayer inched up 0.1% to €80.70 after falling for most of the session even though the German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant said that it “got off to a good start” in 2013 with profits rising 11.5% on the back of new pharmaceutical products.
On Wall Street, shares were higher on solid employment numbers with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.47% and the techy-heavy Nasdaq gaining 0.81%.
In a fresh sign of a slowly improving job market, new claims for US unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since mid-March, the government reported before markets opened yesterday.