European stocks traded higher Tuesday, following Monday’s rally on Wall Street, helped by upbeat earnings from Citigroup and news that the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 in favor of filing civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs.
The U.K. FTSE 100 index was 0.6% higher at 5760.41, Germany’s DAX rose 0.7% to 6202.92 and France’s CAC-40 index gained 0.6% to 3992.72.
«Last week’s SEC ruling against Goldman Sachs had certainly been weighing on the banks and, in turn, pressuring the major indices, but traders are now looking forward to Goldman’s earnings, which are due for release later today, and some solid numbers here have the potential to help extend the rally once again,» said Ben Potter, research analyst at IG Markets.
On Monday, U.S. stocks edged higher, recovering some of the Friday decline caused partly by the SEC’s civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs, as strong earnings from Citigroup and analysts’ positive comments on DuPont and McDonald’s encouraged investors.
News that the U.S. Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators posted a large gain in March also helped, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% to 11,092.1. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1% to 2480.1, but the Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 0.5% to 1197.6.
Citigroup jumped 32 cents, or 7%, after reporting its strongest results in nearly three years and saying the fallout from the financial crisis and the bank’s massive strategic repositioning is settling.
Asian shares traded mostly higher Tuesday after Wall Street’s rise Monday, with regional financial and airline stocks recovering some of their prior-day losses. Market sentiment was starting to improve slowly after the shock news Friday that the SEC had filed civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell from its highs and was 0.1% lower. But Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.3% higher and South Korea’s Kospi Composite was up 0.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.6% but the Shanghai Composite was down 0.7%.
Some caution was still evident. «It is difficult to see sentiment improving too much against the background of ongoing worries about Greece as reflected in the renewed widening in Greek debt spreads [Monday],» said Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank in a note to clients.
In the European foreign exchanges, the dollar was a little firmer all round. The euro slipped to $1.3457, down from $1.3490 late in New York Monday, while the dollar rose to Y92.65 from Y92.40. Sterling eased to $1.5305 from $1.5341. June Nymex crude oil futures were up 32 cents at $83.45 per barrel. And spot gold was pushing higher, to $1136.20 per ounce, up 35 cents from the New York close.
By contrast, the European sovereign debt markets were modestly lower. The June bund contract was down 0.05 at 123.69.
During the European trading session, airlines are likely to be in focus, as some parts of Europe’s airspace open up despite signs that the Icelandic volcano at the source of the chaos had spewed a fresh cloud of volcanic ash into the air. Airline stocks rallied late Monday, as news emerged that airspace was to be progressively reopened. But a note from Deutsche Bank warned: «With future eruptions possible, we believe it is best to buy lower-risk airline stocks with the strongest balance sheets.»
Source: online.wsj.com.
Свежие комментарии