Europe’s main stock markets ended mixed yesterday, a day after a bullish economic outlook by the US Federal Reserve sent Wall Street shares to their highest level since December 2007. At closing, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 0.18 per cent to 5,945.43 points and in Paris; the CAC 40 added 0.40 per cent to 3,564.51 point.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 jumped 1.19 per cent to 7,079.42 points, as investors also digested results from pharmaceuticals and chemicals giant Bayer and power supplier E.ON. Elsewhere, Madrid rose by 0.17 per cent, Milan by 0.31 per cent, Brussels by 0.36 percent and Amsterdam by 0.52 per cent. Lisbon fell by 0.74 per cent,
In foreign exchange trade, the European single currency dipped to $1.3028 from $1.3075 late in New York on Tuesday. The dollar reached 83.83 yen, an 11-month high, before ending the day at 83.76 yen from 82.90 yen on Tuesday.
“The dollar continues to be buoyed by the Fed’s improved outlook on the US economy,” Kathleen Brooks of Forex.com said.
US stocks were mostly flat yesterday, after the prior day’s massive rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09 per cent to 13,139.03 points, the broad-market S&P 500 slipped a marginal 0.09 per cent to 1,349.64 points, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.06 per cent to 3,037.91 points.
The Dow on Tuesday jumped 1.68 per cent to 13,177.68 points – its best finish since December 31, 2007.
The US central bank held interest rates at record lows on Tuesday and upgraded its view of the world’s number one economy, saying the jobs market and consumer and business spending had improved since January.
The assessment sent Wall Street’s Dow index soaring as investors also reacted to news that top US banks had passed crucial stress tests.
While acknowledging it was still facing problems the Fed said: “Labour market conditions have improved further; the unemployment rate has declined notably in recent months but remains elevated.”
“Strains in global financial markets have eased, though they continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook.”
Markets had also rallied on news that US retail sales rose 0.4 per cent in January from December. That was the biggest gain since October.
In German company news, E.ON saw its shares surge 6.38 per cent to €18.24 after stressing that the group was “past the worst” after the difficult business environment pushed it deeply into the red last year.