Volkswagen closed up 8.35% at €125.90 yesterday, sparking speculation over a “mystery” buyer snapping up the shares.
AFP/London
Europe’s major stock markets advanced yesterday after gains across Asia thanks to growing hints that US interest rates will not rise until next year.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0.65% to stand at 6.416,16 points, boosted by mining giant Glencore’s seven% jump.
In the eurozone yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 won 0.54% to trade at 4,701.39 points compared with Thursday’s close.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 stocks index rallied 1.04% to 10,096.60 points, with troubled Volkswagen’s shares soaring to close up 8.35% at €125.90.
The euro climbed to $1.1362 from $1.1275, with the Fed seemingly not rushing to hike US borrowing costs before the end of the year.
Shares in mining companies, meanwhile, surged after an announcement from Glencore that
it will slash zinc production.
The Federal Reserve postponed a move to hike US interest rates as it was worried about a global slowdown, concerns over the strong dollar and listless US inflation, minutes from its last monetary policy meeting revealed on Thursday.
Fed policymakers at their September meeting mulled an increase in the zero-level US federal funds rate but took a cautious approach after a severe bout of financial turmoil unsettled the outlook for the world’s biggest economy, the minutes showed.
Volkswagen share jump sparked speculation over a “mystery” buyer snapping up the shares. Daily Bild cited market rumours that the Porsche and Piech families — both major shareholders of Volkswagen group — were in the market to buy.
“Rate-setters from the UK to Europe to the US have voiced concerns over the slowdown in emerging markets and the drop in commodity prices,” Jasper Lawler, analyst at CMC Markets UK, wrote in a client note yesterday.
Mining and commodities giant Glencore, weighed down by debt as it struggles against a commodity price crash, announced Friday it is slashing its worldwide output of zinc by one third.
The Swiss-based company said jobs would be lost.
Glencore shares surged 7.0% to close at 129.1 pence, while rivals Anglo American jumped 7.23% and Rio Tinto won 3.15%.
US stocks, which shot up Thursday after the minutes of the Fed meeting were released, rose slightly on Friday.
Near mid-day in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,067.05 points, a gain of 0.10%.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.12% to 2,015.83, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.40% to 4,830.06.
However, shares of Alcoa were off more than four% after it reported after markets closed Thursday a 70.4% drop in third-quarter earnings to $44mn. The metals giant trimmed its outlook for key Chinese businesses.
