Traders at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The DAX 30 rose 0.89% to 10,238.10 points yesterday.
AFP
London
European stock markets made marginal gains yesterday, as traders awaited today’s key policy meeting of the European Central Bank.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index gained 0.05% to close at 6,348.42 points.
In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 rose 0.89% to 10,238.10 points and the Paris CAC 40 stood 0.46% ahead at 4,695.10 compared with Tuesday’s close.
Europe’s main indices had dropped slightly on Tuesday as investors fretted over the broader global impact of China’s economic slowdown.
In foreign exchange yesterday, the euro rose to $1.1344 from $1.1322 Tuesday in New York.
“The risk is for euro gains if the ECB fails to point to further stimulus in the coming months,” said Phil McHugh, trading floor manager at Currencies Direct.
“However, (ECB chief) Mario Draghi will also be eager for the euro not to strengthen too much beyond current levels, so we could be in for more mixed signals.”
Today’s European Central Bank meeting comes as falling eurozone prices turn up the heat on the ECB to prevent the single currency area from slipping into a dangerous deflationary spiral.
Given current low interest rates any additional easing action taken at the Malta meeting would likely take the form of an extension of the central bank’s bond purchase programme, known as quantitative easing or QE.
US stocks were mixed, despite solid earnings from Boeing and a $19bn acquisition of computer storage company SanDisk by Western Digital.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average clung to a modest gain, but the Nasdaq fell as traders weighed big technology deals, mixed earnings and Ferrari’s roaring Wall Street debut.
An hour into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,225.96, up 0.05%.
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.11% to 2,028.63, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.22% to 4,870.17.
Dow member Boeing rose 1.87% after reporting third-quarter net income up 25.1% to $1.7bn.
Global computer disk drive leader Western Digital announced it will pay $19bn for flash memory specialist SanDisk. SanDisk rose 2.66%, while Western Digital added 0.31%.
Shares of legendary supercar maker Ferarri initially soared 15% above the IPO price of $52 on their New York debut but later fell back and were 8.33% ahead mid-session.
Owner Fiat Chrysler Automobiles spun off 9% of the luxury marque on Tuesday, with the subscription price valuing the company at a heady $10bn.
On the British corporate front Wednesday, shares in Pearson slumped as the publisher cut its annual earnings forecast.
Pearson, which recently struck deals to sell the Financial Times newspaper and The Economist magazine, was London’s main loser in shedding a hefty 15.95% at 998.50 pence.
Pearson said it expected full-year adjusted earnings of 70-75 pence a share, down from an earlier forecast of 75-80 pence.
French energy giant EDF closed up 0.46% in Paris after confirming China will finance one third of Britain’s first nuclear power plant in decades to the tune of £6.0bn (€8.2bn, $9.3bn) in a vast deal backed by the French and scheduled for 2025 completion.
The deal came with Britain on a charm offensive to woo Chinese investment.
Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the investment as “historic” as he hosted visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping, adding the countries had signed deals worth £40bn (€54.6bn, $61.9bn).
