European stocks rose to their highest level since 2008 this week, as gains by oil producers outweighed a slump in Swiss shares.
The STOXX Europe 600 Index climbed 1.1 percent to 352.4 at the close on Friday, after earlier losing as much as 0.9 percent. A surprise move by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to end a cap on the franc sent the gauge fluctuating in Thursday’s session. It closed 2.6 percent up amid speculation that the move strengthens the case for quantitative easing by the European Central Bank next week.
The STOXX 600 gained 4.3 percent for the week, posting its biggest weekly advance since December 2011. It is 0.4 percent below the high it hit on Dec. 5 last year, as a drop in commodity prices dragged energy and mining stocks lower. The number of shares changing hands on STOXX 600-listed companies was 23 percent greater than the average of the past 30 days, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
Nestle SA, Novartis AG and Roche Holding AG — the largest shares on the STOXX 600 — dropped more than 4.5 percent. Watchmakers Cie. Financiere Richemont SA and Swatch Group AG slid more than 6.5 percent, extending losses from a day earlier.
A gauge of energy shares posted the best performance among 19 industry groups in the STOXX 600 as oil prices rose. Total SA and BG Group PLC added more than 3 percent, while BP PLC climbed 5.3 percent after a US judge ruled it had dumped less oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 than the US government had calculated, decreasing the maximum fine the company faces.
“It’s very difficult to pinpoint a direction in the markets,” said Teis Knuthsen, chief investment officer at Saxo Bank A/S’ private banking unit in Hellerup, Denmark. “You have to fear how much the Swiss central bank’s decision will hurt the Swiss economy.”
The Swiss Market Index declined 6 percent this week, after posting its biggest slide since 1989 on Thursday as the franc surged over the SNB’s announcement — it was the gauge’s worst week since 2008.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained