World shares edged higher yesterday and treasury yields rose after data showed the US economy still on a path to recovery, but not growing so strongly as to hasten an end to Federal Reserve stimulus. European equities rose on signs that Europe may be through the worst of its economic slump.
A gauge of equities across Europe closed up 0.4 per cent.
DUBLIN
The Iseq index of Irish shares finished up, on a par with its global counterparts, adding 19 points to close at 3,497.
Building materials company Kingspan increased 2.06 per cent to close at €8.60. It was also a positive trading day for low-fares airline Ryanair and exploration group Dragon Oil, which rose 1.43 per cent and 1.39 per cent respectively to close at €4.96 and €6.79.
The jump in Irish shares follows a feeling generally that things are improving on the global front according to one Dublin stockbroker, following signs of improvement in the world’s major economies.
Icon, IFG and CRH were the main losers of the day. Clinical research company Icon slid 8.15 per cent to finish at €20.85. IFG was down 1.44 per cent and index heavyweight CRH fell 0.64 per cent.
LONDON
Britain’s top shares registered their highest closing level for nearly two years, taking a cue from US jobs data which suggested a broad-based labour market recovery.
BP climbed 2.7 per cent as Exane BNP Paribas said Transocean’s settlement of claims over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill case was a positive development for the British company.
Fresnillo fell 4 per cent after UBS downgraded the shares and silver slid to the lowest in four months. Marks and Spencer lost 3.1 per cent after Nomura Holdings lowered its estimate for fiscal-year profit.
The FTSE 100 Index rose 0.7 per cent, the highest since February 8th, 2011.
EUROPE
European stocks posted their biggest weekly gain since November, rising to a 22-month high, after US politicians agreed a budget. National benchmark indexes rose in 13 of the 18 western European markets.
ThromboGenics jumped 4.4 per cent to €44.78, its highest intra-day price since at least July 2006, after it confirmed its US launch date of January 14th for its Jetrea vision treatment.
Bankia, the lender that received the largest Spanish bailout, surged 20 per cent to 49.5 cents, for the biggest gain on the Stoxx 600. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena rose 12 per cent to 26.2 cents.
Sonova Holding gained 2.6 per cent to 107.4 Swiss francs after Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit upgraded the stock to buy from neutral.
Xstrata and Glencore jumped more than 7 per cent as a report showed China’s manufacturing industry expanded for a third month.
Transocean surged 17 per cent, its biggest weekly advance in 2½ years, after settling with the US government on the claims arising from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.
ArcelorMittal rose 5 per cent after selling a 15 per cent stake its Canadian mining unit.
US
Stocks rose yesterday, sending the S&P’s 500 Index to a five-year high. It added 0.5 per cent to extend a weekly gain to 4.6 per cent and bring it above its best closing level since December 2007.
Commodity, industrial and financial companies helped to lead the market’s gain, while Walt Disney, Alcoa and JPMorgan Chase were among the biggest gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Eli Lilly jumped as it forecast 2013 earnings above analyst expectations. Citigroup advanced after Goldman Sachs Group added the bank to its conviction buy list. Avon Products gained after Bank of America raised its rating on the stock.
Apple slumped as Deutsche Bank aid supply-chain movements suggested iPhone and iPad production may be declining. Technology shares had the only decline among the 10 main SP 500 groups. – (Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters)
