European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi vowed unconditional support for the beleaguered euro on Thursday, sending markets soaring orbit as traders eyed further action from the bank to shore up the eurozone.
In apparently unscripted comments in London, the normally reserved Draghi said his institution was “ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough.”
Saying that the euro was “irreversible,” Draghi said that part of his bank’s remit was to keep sovereign debt levels under control when they hampered the proper functioning of interest rate policy.
Draghi said again in his London speech that the ECB did not want to “supplement actions that have to be taken by governments.”
“That is not our job,” he said.
Asian markets rallied and the euro held on to strong gains made in New York on Draghi’s remarks.
Tokyo climbed 1.46 percent, or 123.54 points, to 8,566.64, Seoul was 2.62 percent, or 46.69 points, higher at 1,829.16, and Sydney finished 1.50 percent, or 62.1 points, higher at 4,209.8.
Europe’s main stock markets advanced in opening trade yesterday, extending the previous day’s bumper gains, with London’s benchmark FTSE 100 adding 0.35 percent to 5,592.89 points.
ABN Amro economist Nick Kounis said that Draghi had “opened the door for a restart of the central bank’s government bond purchase program,” untapped since February.
“The crisis response looks likely to focus on direct intervention in the government bond market,” he added.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said that Draghi’s remarks “suggest that the ECB may well do something about capping rising bond yields.”
Attention would now turn to Draghi’s monthly news conference in Frankfurt on Thursday “to see if he means what he says,” the analyst added.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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