02.03.2016 17:59:46
|
European Markets Extended Their Winning Streak
(RTTNews) - The majority of the European markets ended Wednesday's session in the green, although they finished off their session highs. The markets extended their winning streak to a fifth consecutive session. Financial and resource stocks were among the best performers Wednesday.
Stocks pared some early gains in response to mixed regional data. While Eurozone producer prices fell at the slowest pace in five months in January, matching estimates, British construction activity unexpectedly hit a 10-month low in February, defying economists' expectations for a modest improvement. Crude oil prices were down for much of Wednesday's session, but reversed going into the close.
U.S. private sector employment came in stronger than expected Wednesday. Investors will be watching for the release of the U.S. employment report for February at the end of the week. Traders will also be interested in the Beige Book, which will be released after the European close today. The report is closely watched by the Federal Reserve and may provide clues regarding the outlook for interest rates.
Policymakers are exploring ways to mitigate the adverse effects that negative interest rates can have on bank profitability, European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said Wednesday, as euro area rate-setters prepare to unveil fresh stimulus next week that may include a deposit rate cut.
Acknowledging the concern that negative deposit rate could squeeze banks' net interest margins, Coeure said, "We are well aware of this issue."
"We are monitoring it on a regular basis and we are studying carefully the schemes used in other jurisdictions to mitigate possible adverse consequences for the bank lending channel," the policymaker said in a speech in Frankfurt.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.86 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 1.06 percent.
The DAX of Germany climbed 0.61 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.41 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. fell 0.09 percent, but the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.98 percent.
In Frankfurt, automakers all climbed after unveiling their U.S. February sales figures. BMW increased 2.75 percent, Daimler added 2.71 percent and Volkswagen gained 2.66 percent.
Deutsche Bank increased 5.17 percent and Commerzbank rose 4.07 percent.
Biotechnology firm MorphoSys jumped 10.63 percent after reporting better-than-expected full-year earnings.
In Paris, BioMérieux plunged 14.32 percent, after reporting net income for fiscal year 2015 of 110 million euros, down from 136 million euros in 2014.
Societe Generale advanced 4.20 percent and BNP Paribas added 3.34 percent. Credit Agricole also finished higher by 2.69 percent.
In London, broadcaster ITV fell 3.49 percent, after warning advertising revenue would be flat over the next few months.
Pearson weakened by 1.67 percent, after Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating to "Sell" from "Neutral."
Lender Virgin Money soared 7 percent on reporting a 53 percent rise in its full-year underlying pretax profit.
Mining stocks climbing on rising metal prices. BHP Billiton increased 5.13 percent and Anglo American gained 6.68 percent. Antofagasta advanced 3.59 percent and Rio Tinto rose 3.48 percent. Glencore also closed up by 3.75 percent.
Standard Chartered surged 5.30 percent and Barclays climbed 2.72 percent. HSBC gained 2.31 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland finished up by 2 percent.
Medical technology group Elekta sank 14.89 percent in Stockholm, after its third-quarter core earnings fell below market expectations.
Eurozone producer prices fell at the slowest pace in five months during January, in line with economists' expectations, figures from the Eurostat showed Wednesday. The industrial producer price index decreased 2.9 percent year-on-year following a 3 percent slump in December.
British construction activity expanded at the weakest pace in ten months in February, defying economists' expectations for a modest improvement, survey data from Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply showed Wednesday.
The Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 54.2 in February from 55.0 in the previous month. It was expected to rise to 55.5.
U.K. shop prices declined for the thirty-fourth consecutive month in February, British Retail Consortium said Wednesday. Shop prices declined 2 percent year-on-year in February, faster than January's 1.8 percent fall.
The Swiss economy recovered at a faster than expected pace in the fourth quarter, helped by domestic spending, suggesting that the region weathered headwinds from the appreciation of the franc and the resultant weakness in exports.
Gross domestic product advanced 0.4 percent sequentially, reversing the revised 0.1 percent contraction in the third quarter, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed Wednesday.
This was the fastest growth in a year and exceeded the 0.2 percent growth projected by economists.
Reflecting continued strength in the job market, payroll processor ADP released a report on Wednesday showing stronger than expected private sector job growth in the month of February. ADP said private sector employment jumped by 214,000 jobs in February compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 185,000 jobs.
Wenn Sie mehr über das Thema Aktien erfahren wollen, finden Sie in unserem Ratgeber viele interessante Artikel dazu!
Jetzt informieren!