After a dose of the horrors last week, global markets advanced yesterday as American shares were buoyed by technology earnings and the prospect of corporate bond purchases by the European Central Bank led European stocks back into positive territory.
A report that the Frankfurt-based ECB was preparing a plan to follow its intervention in the market for asset-backed securities with a foray into the corporate bond market helped bring the major German and French indices higher.
The Dublin market also rose, with the Iseq closing nearly 3 per cent higher.
DUBLIN
Shares across the board were on the rise on the Irish Stock Exchange. “It’s a bull market today. Everything is up. Earnings numbers in the States are good. IBM had such a shocker yesterday but other numbers were good,” a trader said.
Ahead of key European stress test results next weekend, Bank of Ireland closed 4.7 per cent higher at 31.1 cents. This was the first time in about a month that the share broke through the 31 cent threshold.
Building materials group CRH rose 3.7 per cent to €17.04, Kingspan finished 4.3 per cent higher at €12.04 and Smurfit Kappa gained 4.21 per cent to €16.1. It was a good day for airlines too, with Ryanair climbing 3.64 per cent to €7.34 while Aer Lingus gained 1.48 per cent to €1.37.
C&C rose 4.86 per cent to t €3.99, although a trader noted the stock was volatile.
LONDON
Gains in big oil companies and drugmaker Shire lifted Britain’s top equity index, which extended a rebound after falling to 15-month lows last week. Advances of about 3 per cent in both BP and Royal Dutch Shell added the most points to the FTSE 100 index, as stronger oil prices lifted energy stocks.
Brent crude oil, which had fallen to four-year lows last week, held on to gains at around $86 a barrel after data showed robust oil demand in China, the world’s largest energy consumer.
Shire rose 2.6 per cent after Reuters reported that Allergan shareholder Paulson & Co was urging the firm to merge with Shire as an alternative to a deal with hostile bidder Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
Online fashion retailer Asos, which is not listed on the FTSE 100 but is part of the broader London stock market, also surged by 16.3 per cent.
EUROPE
European stocks advanced after companies including Actelion and Swedbank posted better-than-estimated earnings, while the ECB was said to have bought Italian covered bonds.
Actelion added 3 per cent after increasing its full-year prediction for a second time. Swedbank rose 4.7 per cent after announcing job cuts and posting net income that beat estimates. Reckitt Benckiser lost 2.1 per cent after saying full-year sales growth would be at the lower end of its forecast.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 2.1 per cent to 323.74.
The ECB bought short-dated French notes from Société Générale and BNP Paribas as well as Spanish securities from other lenders yesterday.
Germany’s Dax Index gained 1.9 per cent and France’s Cac 40 Index rose 2.3 per cent.
NEW YORK
US stocks rallied, with the S&P 500 on track for a fourth straight session of gains boosted by strong corporate results including those of Apple.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones were up more than 1 per cent while the Nasdaq rose more than 2 per cent, boosted by better-than-expected results from several major tech companies.
The S&P 500 has gained more than 6 per cent from its session low last Wednesday, when the benchmark was down nearly 10 per cent from its intraday record. The index was on track to close above its 14-day moving average for the first time since September 24th and was also trading above its 200-day average.
Apple rose 2.5 per cent a day after revenue topped expectations, helped by strong iPhone sales. It also gave a strong outlook for the holiday quarter.
