Europe's main stock markets closed higher on Friday at the end of a turbulent week which saw global equities rocked by fears over a US economic slowdown.
In London the FTSE 100 index closed up 1.74 percent at 6,262.10 points, in Paris the CAC 40 gained 1.94 percent to end the day at 5,521.17 points and in Frankfurt the Dax closed 0.62 percent higher at 7,608.96.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares rose 1.42 percent to 4,268.53 points.
The European single currency stood at US$1.4831, after earlier striking a record high point of US$1.4967.
mining focus
In London, the mining sector was in focus, with Vedanta Resources storming ahead as bid rumors swirled around the group. Vedanta's share price topped the FTSE leaders board, leaping 7.16 percent to 2,036 pence.
Antofagasta shares were jolted 7.12 percent higher to 684.50 pence and Anglo American surged 6.09 percent to 2,980 pence.
In Frankfurt, Deutsche Postbank added 4.14 percent to 58.86 euros after Merrill Lynch added the bank's shares to its "most preferred banking list."
And in Paris, the French banking sector was boosted by an encouraging report from Moody's ratings agency on the outlook for the sector.
risers
BNP Paribas led the risers, adding 5.08 percent to stand at 69.87 euros, while Societe Generale gained 4.10 percent in value to 97.75 euros.
In the airline sector, flagship carriers extended Thursday's gains, which were sparked by a strong second-quarter earnings report from Air France.
Air France shares soared 2.91 percent to stand at 25.45 euros on Friday.
Elsewhere in Europe on Friday, in Madrid the Ibex 35 closed up 0.49 percent to 15,392.2 points, in Milan the SP/Mib gained 1.73 percent to 38,012 points and in Brussels the Bel 20 added 2.26 percent to 4,011.95 points.
The Dutch AEX index gained 1.55 percent to 492.47 points, while the Swiss SMI was up 1.76 percent to 8,371.83 points.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
Hong Kong authorities ramped up sales of the local dollar as the greenback’s slide threatened the foreign-exchange peg. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sold a record HK$60.5 billion (US$7.8 billion) of the city’s currency, according to an alert sent on its Bloomberg page yesterday in Asia, after it tested the upper end of its trading band. That added to the HK$56.1 billion of sales versus the greenback since Friday. The rapid intervention signals efforts from the city’s authorities to limit the local currency’s moves within its HK$7.75 to HK$7.85 per US dollar trading band. Heavy sales of the local dollar by
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
RSS