European stocks rose yesterday on a barrage of positive earnings reports and buoyant US data, shrugging off the latest twist in Greece’s saga to unlock bailout funding.
London’s FTSE 100 index of top companies jumped 1.37 per cent to 5,861.92 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 advanced 1.35 per cent to 3,475.40 points and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 gained 1.03 per cent to 7,335.67 points.
In foreign exchange activity, the euro eased slightly to $1.2940 from $1.2958 in New York on Wednesday. Gold prices slid to $1,716.25 an ounce at the evening fixing on the London Bullion Market, from $1,719 the day before.
Some buoyant data on consumer confidence and the manufacturing sector gave Wall Street a solid bump higher yesterday.
In midday trading the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.92 per cent at 13,216.61 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.87 per cent to 1,424.51 points, while the Nasdaq added 1.25 per cent to 3,014.30 points. The markets jumped higher on a gain in consumer confidence: the Conference Board index for October rose to 72.2 in October, up from a revised 68.4 in September and better than forecasts.
Also helping was a slight rise in the ISM’s purchasing manager index for the industrial sector, to 51.7 per cent from September’s 51.5 per cent reading.
US weekly jobless claims continued to decline, falling a modest 9,000 to 363,000 last week, the Labor Department said yesterday.
New claims for unemployment insurance benefits in the week to October 27 – an indicator of the pace of layoffs – came in below the four-week moving trend of 367,250.
The focus now switches to hotly awaited non-farm payrolls numbers today. “The seesawing in European markets this week has continued with a strong push higher as positive earnings reports have prompted investors to adopt a less cautious approach and push equity markets back towards their highest levels this week,” said Michael Hewson, Senior Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK.
ETX Market Strategist Ishaq Siddiqi said “a deluge of upbeat (US) economic data that raises confidence after Sandy’s devastation” helped the markets advance further in the afternoon.
Asian stock markets were mixed, with stronger Chinese manufacturing data providing support as Tokyo’s rise was stunted by a huge slump in electronics giant Panasonic.
Data showed China’s manufacturing activity expanded in October for the first time in three months, adding to renewed optimism that the world’s number two economy is beginning to awake from its recent slumber.
The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 50.2 last month, from 49.8 in September, according to official figures. A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion while anything below points to contraction. (AFP)