European stocks rose across the board yesterday, buoyed by the news from across the Atlantic where the Dow Jones briefly breached the 12,000 mark, as a see-saw week continued.
Dealers said the markets were also waiting to see what the US Federal Reserve would say after a two-day policy meeting, especially on its current stimulus programme designed to keep the economic recovery on track.
London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed up 0.87 per cent at 5,969.07 points, led by oil stocks, with the announcement that British energy producer BG Group is involved in a partnership which has discovered “high quality crude” off the Brazilian coast.
In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.73 per cent to 4,049.07 points and in Frankfurt the DAX was up 0.97 per cent at 7,127.35 points.
“Breaking through the psychological barrier in the United States and some solid company results have been very positive,” said Christian Parisot, economist at Aurel BGC in the French capital.
Elsewhere in Europe, Amsterdam rose 0.92 per cent and Brussels 0.33 per cent, with smaller gains in Madrid and Switzerland.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the symbolic threshold of 12,000 points yesterday for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, before losing ground.
By 1635 GMT, the Dow had slipped 0.07 per cent to 11,968.64 points. The tech-rich Nasdaq added 0.51 per cent
While the 12,000-point breakthrough was encouraging, many investors were taking a cautious line as the Federal Reserve continued a policy-setting meeting, hoping for signals on the economy’s direction and stimulus measures.
Investors are “looking for any changes to its economic outlook and if the current environment warrants any tweaks to its $600 billion asset purchase program, known as quantitative easing, or QE2,” Charles Schwab analysts said in a client note.
The Fed was expected to keep ultra-low interest rates when it announces its decision.
Most Asian markets also finished higher, with Hong Kong and Shanghai up thanks to bargain-hunting and Seoul lifted by strong growth data while Tokyo experienced a correction after weeks of gains.
However, Tokyo ended down 0.60 per cent in what strategist Hideyuki Ishiguro said was a market correction after gains of some 14 per cent since November 1.