World stock markets climbed yesterday, lifted by optimism over the outlook for corporate earnings and US President Donald Trump’s tax reform plan, while the US dollar gained after a manufacturing index rose to its highest level since 2004.
Spanish borrowing costs rose and stocks fell as a violent police crackdown on an independence vote in Catalonia rattled investors, but major European bourses gained on travel stocks and a mining sector helped by higher metals prices.
US manufacturing surged amid strong gains in new orders and raw material prices, while rebounding construction spending in August bolstered the economic outlook even as Hurricanes Harvey and Irma are expected to dent third-quarter growth.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of US factory activity rose to a reading of 60.8 last month, the highest reading since May 2004, from 58.8 in August.
The dollar was last up 0.64 per cent against the euro at $1.1736 and up 0.20 per cent against the yen at 112.70. The euro was also hurt after the voting in Catalonia fuelled anxiety over political risk in the eurozone. Many analysts said the uncertainty could slow Spain's economic growth though they expect the crisis to be resolved with an offer of more autonomy.
“It is clear that risks to government stability are increasing,” said Federico Santi, an analyst at Eurasia Group in London, referring to reports of nearly 900 injured in the clashes with police.
The pan-regional FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European companies rose 0.41 per cent to a preliminary close of 1,530.98, and MSCI’s gauge of stock performance in 46 countries gained 0.04 per cent.
On Wall Street, the three key stock indexes ground higher to record intraday highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70.6 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 22,475.69. The S&P 500 gained 4.55 points or 0.18 per cent, to 2,523.91 and the Nasdaq Composite added 14.73 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 6,510.69.
“Investors are trying to get in front of earnings that are expected to be pretty good and there’s still some optimism over corporate tax relief,” Rick Meckler, president of hedge fund LibertyView Capital Management LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Third-quarter earnings are ex-pected to increase 6.2 per cent from a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters research.
Excluding energy, earnings growth is estimated at 4.3 per cent.
Oil fell more than $1 a barrel to below $56 as a rise in US drilling and higher output from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries halted a rally that helped prices to register their biggest third-quarter gain in 13 years.
US energy companies added oil rigs for the first week in seven and Iraq announced its exports rose slightly in September while Opec overall boosted output, a Reuters survey showed.
US crude fell $1.42 to $50.25 per barrel and Brent was last at $55.70, down $1.09 on the day.
Benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes fell 4/32 in price to yield 2.339 per cent. US gold futures fell 0.62 per cent to $1,276.80 an ounce, while copper rose 0.27 per cent to $6,498.50 a tonne.